JP3081776B2 - Developing method of non-magnetic one-component developer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer developing method for developing an electrostatic latent image using a non-magnetic toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in an electrophotographic method, a latent image is formed electrically on a photoreceptor, the latent image is developed with toner, and a toner image is transferred to a transfer material such as paper as necessary. The image is fixed by means such as heat, pressure and the like to obtain a copy. As a developer used in such an electrophotographic method, a two-component developer including a toner and a carrier,
There is a one-component developer having both functions of a toner and a carrier. The one-component developer further includes a magnetic one-component developer,
It is classified as a non-magnetic one-component developer. The two-component developer has excellent electrophotographic properties such as transferability, fixability, and environmental resistance, but requires a toner concentration sensor to control the ratio of toner to carrier, and has a short developer life. There is a problem that the stirring mechanism of the developer is complicated. On the other hand, a magnetic one-component developer does not require the above-described toner concentration sensor, and can easily reduce the size of the developing device. However, since it contains magnetic particles, the fixability may be poor. In recent years, a developing method using a non-magnetic one-component developer has been proposed and put to practical use in order to achieve both the simplification of the apparatus and the electrophotographic characteristics.

A non-magnetic one-component developing method includes a contact-type non-magnetic one-component developing method in which a developing roller carrying a developer is brought into contact with a photoreceptor having an electrostatic latent image to perform development.
There is a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method in which a certain gap is provided between a developing roller and a photoreceptor so that toner on the developing roller flies and is developed. In the contact-type non-magnetic one-component developing method, the toner on the developing roller and the photoreceptor having an electrostatic latent image are in contact with each other, so that the developing property is good. On the other hand, the toner is not only in the developing device but also in the developing device. There is also friction with the photoreceptor, which increases the mechanical load on the toner. On the other hand, in the non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method, since the developer is frictionally charged only by the charging member, the mechanical load on the developer is small. The mechanical stress received is large, and fusion to the layer regulating member or the like often becomes a problem. Further, in the case of the non-contact type, the developing property is generally inferior to that of the contact type, since a gap is interposed during development. Particularly when the toner has a small particle size of several μm, it is difficult to obtain good developability.

In a non-contact non-magnetic one-component developing method,
As one of means for improving the developing property, it is conceivable to increase the amount of toner supplied to the developing roller. Generally, when the particle diameter becomes small, the fluidity of the toner tends to decrease.
In particular, when a toner having a small particle diameter of several μm is used, it is an important issue to secure a sufficient toner transport amount. In order to solve this problem, in the developing device, besides using a toner replenishing unit by rotation of a sponge roller, a fur brush roller, and the like, more important elemental technologies include:
The pressure of the layer regulating member against the developing roller, the contact angle, and the like are given. That is, in order to improve the flow of the toner into the contact portion between the layer regulating member on which the toner layer is formed and the developing roller surface, an appropriate contact angle is provided, and at the same time, the pressing force of the layer regulating member is reduced, What is necessary is just to increase the toner conveyance amount in the direction. However, when the amount of toner transportation increases, decreases the frequency of contact between the toner and the layer regulating member and the developing roller surface, the toner charging mosquitoes blanking Li becomes insufficient, problems scattering and the like easily occurs.

On the other hand, even if the frequency of contact between the toner and the layer regulating member and the developing roller is reduced under the above-mentioned low pressure, the toner has good chargeability and has problems such as fogging and scattering. Is not required to occur. Further, when a small particle size toner having an average particle size of the order of several μm is used to improve the image quality, the specific surface area of the toner is increased, so that the frequency of contact between the toner and the above members is further reduced. However, the above-mentioned problems become even more remarkable.
In addition, when the toner has a small particle diameter, it is difficult to obtain good fluidity as described above, and therefore, it is necessary to optimize the contact angle to improve the flow of the toner into the layer forming portion. Become. The toner conveyed to the layer forming portion formed by the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller by the developing roller or the like is blocked by the layer forming member, and a part of the toner is formed into a layer and supplied to the developing portion. Most of the toner is circulated in the developing device until it is ready for development. If the recirculation is not controlled well, the toner will not be sufficiently fed into the layer forming section. In particular, when the black ratio of the document is high, the amount of developed toner will be insufficient, causing image blurring and other memory phenomena ( The second rotation of the developing roller causes an afterimage caused by the development of the first rotation.). Therefore, in order to obtain sufficient characteristics as a process, it is necessary to consider both the device and the toner.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional situation. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a uniform toner layer on a developing sleeve in a non-contact non-magnetic one-component developer developing method,
Even with a toner having a small particle diameter, there is no occurrence of scattering, fogging, memory, etc., and even in the case of an original having a high black ratio such as black solid, image blur does not occur, and a non-magnetic component developer which can obtain sufficient developability is obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide a developing method.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have solved the drawbacks of the non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as developer) developing method, and have developed a developer having a small particle diameter. However, as a result of intensive studies on obtaining good developability, the above-described method was adopted by using a specific layer regulating member and a contact method thereof, and using a back pressure member in a fixing portion of the layer regulating member. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer having a sufficient developing property, in which a uniform developer layer can be obtained on a developing roller, which does not cause fogging or scattering even with a small particle diameter. They have found and completed the present invention.

That is, in the first developing method of the present invention, a non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and the Young's modulus is reduced.
A thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member of 120 kgf / cm ² or less , a charge is applied, and the non-magnetic one-component developer flies due to a potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. A non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer for developing a photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image in a non-contact manner, and then transferring to a transfer material, wherein the layer regulating member is a developing device. The free end is located on the side of the developing roller in the direction of rotation, and the fixed portion of the layer regulating member has a flat or curved bottom surface for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device. A back pressure member, wherein the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing roller surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and a tangent to the developing roller at a contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and fixing of the layer regulating member. Face The contact angle θ is 90 ± 10 ° ,
Bottom of fixing member of layer regulating member and fixing surface direction of layer regulating member
The maximum distance to the back of the layer regulating member is 0.5 to 3.0.
mm and the load on the developing roller of the layer regulating member is linear.
A method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer , wherein the pressure is 10 to 150 g / cm .

In the second developing method of the present invention, a non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and the Young's modulus is 120.
A thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member of kgf / cm ² or less, charges are given, and the non-magnetic one-component developer flies due to a potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. A non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer for developing a photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image in a non-contact manner, and then transferring to a transfer material, wherein the layer regulating member is a developing device. The free end is located on the side of the developing roller in the direction of rotation, and the fixed portion of the layer regulating member has a flat or curved bottom surface for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device. A back pressure member, wherein the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing roller surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and a tangent to the developing roller at a contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and fixing of the layer regulating member. The surface that makes The contact angle θ is 90 ± 10 ° ,
Bottom of fixing member of layer regulating member and fixing surface direction of layer regulating member
The maximum distance to the back of the layer regulating member is 0.5 to 3.0.
mm, which is a non-magnetic one-component developer.

Further, in a third developing method of the present invention, a non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member. At the same time, an electric charge is given, the non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by the potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller, and is developed in a non-contact manner on the photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image, and then transferred to a transfer material. A method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer of a contact type, wherein the layer regulating member is fixed to a cantilever with respect to a developing device, a free end is located on a rotation traveling direction side of a developing roller, and The fixed part has a flat or curved bottom surface for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing unit.
And a bottom portion of the back pressure member and a developing roller.
The shortest distance of the surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and the contact angle θ between the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90.
A non-magnetic one-component developer, characterized in that the pressure is ± 10 ° and the load on the developing roller of the layer regulating member is 10 to 150 g / cm at a linear pressure.

[0011]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. A typical example of the non-magnetic one-component developer used in the present invention contains a binder resin, a colorant, and a charge control agent. As a preferable example of the charge control agent, a polymer type charge control agent shown below ( A) and at least one of the pigment type charge control agents (B) may be blended. (A) a graft polymer (C1) having a polystyrene-based main chain in which 50 mol% or more is styrene and a graft chain having a skeleton represented by the following general formula (1); A mixture comprising the indicated polymer (C2). (B) A compound represented by the following general formula (3).

[0013]

Embedded image Wherein R ₁ is a C ₁₁ -C ₁₇ hydrocarbon group, R ₂ and R ₃ are each independently hydrogen or a C ₁ -C ₈ hydrocarbon group, or R ₂ and R ₃ are R ₄ may be a C _{1 to} C ₁₂ alkylene group which may contain an ether bond in the group, X ⁻ may be an anion, and m may be 2 to 100. Represents an integer.)

[0014]

Embedded image (In the formula, R _{1 to} R ₄ and X ⁻ are the same as in the general formula (1), and n represents an integer of 2 to 100.)

[0015]

Embedded image (Wherein R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ and R ₄ are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms,
A 20 represents an unsubstituted or substituted aromatic group, an aralkyl group having 7 to 20 carbon atoms, and A ⁻ represents a molybdate anion, a tungstate anion, a molybdenum or a heteropolyacid anion containing a tungsten atom. As the binder resin, all the resins that could not be used in terms of charge controllability and the like can be used, in addition to those conventionally used in powder toners for electrophotography. For example, polystyrene, polyester, ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer, ethylene-
Examples include, but are not limited to, vinyl acetate copolymer, polyamide, polyethylene, maleic resin, xylene resin, phenol resin, and the like.

As the coloring agent, any known coloring agent can be used. For example, black colorants such as carbon black, acetylene black, lamp black, channel black, and aniline black; and, for chromatic colors, farnal blue, permanent blue, nigrosine blue, phthalocyanine cyan pigments, rose bengal, xanthene magenta Examples include, but are not limited to, color dyes, quinacridone-based magenta pigments, monoazo-based red pigments, and disazo-based yellow pigments. These colorants are used in the binder resin 10
It is appropriately blended in the range of 1 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 0 parts by weight.

Further, in the present invention, in order to improve the fluidity of the developer, a fluidity improver such as hydrophobic silica or hydrophobic alumina, or between developer particles, or between developer particles and a developing roller or a layer. Fine powder such as metal oxide or barium sulfate for reducing the adhesion to the regulating member can be used while being held on the developer surface. In this case, the fluidity improver, metal oxide or barium sulfate fine powder can be used alone or in combination. Here, to hold the above-mentioned fluidity improver or metal oxide, fine powder such as barium sulfate on the surface of the developer,
The state where the above-mentioned fluidity improver or fine powder is adhered to the surface of the developer by electrostatic force or van der Waals force (grayed state) or buried (fixed state) Including.

The developer of the present invention may optionally contain other components, for example, additives such as low molecular weight polypropylene, low molecular weight polyethylene, silicone oil, and thermoplastic silicone resin. In addition to the charge control agents (A) and (B), one or two or more charge control agents such as a nigrosine dye and a quaternary ammonium salt other than triphenylmethane and (A) and (B) are combined. May be contained. The developer used in the present invention has a volume average particle diameter of 11 μm or less, preferably 3 to 10 μm, and if the volume average particle diameter is less than 3 μm, sufficient fluidity may not be obtained. On the other hand, if it is larger than 10 μm, the reproducibility of pixels such as dots, lines, and characters may deteriorate. An extruder, a Banbury mixer, a twin-screw, which is a melt-kneader of a mixture of raw materials in which a binder resin, a colorant, a charge control agent, and other additives as required are adjusted at a predetermined mixing ratio. It is obtained by melt-kneading with a kneader, pulverizing and classifying. The charge control agents (A) and (B) of the present invention can be easily finely dispersed in the binder resin by the above-mentioned melt-kneading means. As means for obtaining the developer of the present invention, it is also possible to obtain by a polymerization method such as suspension, emulsification, etc., and the resulting action and effect are different from those obtained by the above-mentioned melt kneading method. There is no.

Next, the developing method of the present invention using the non-magnetic one-component developer will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a developing device used in the method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a photosensitive drum which is a cylindrical electrostatic latent image holding member, 2 is a hopper, 3 is a developer,
4a is a layer regulating member, 4b is a fixing member of the layer regulating member, 5 is a developing roller using an aluminum sleeve, 6 is a developer leakage prevention and scraping member, 7 is a stirrer,
8 is a back pressure member. In this developing device, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by a known electrophotographic method. The developer 3 is contained in the hopper 2, and the developer is supplied to the developing roller 5 by the layer regulating member 4a.
Is carried on a sleeve having a constant layer thickness and transported. The sleeve of the developing roller is provided with a gap of 120 μm from the photosensitive drum 1. DC or AC voltage may be applied to the sleeve as needed. The developer carried by the developing roller 5 is transported by the rotation of the developing roller, comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 1 having an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a relationship between a tangent line Y at a contact portion P perpendicular to the fixing surface X of the layer regulating member 4a and the developing roller 5 and a contact angle θ in the present invention. Furthermore,
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the distance (pressing amount) M and the distance (circulation control width) Z for controlling the circulation of the developer by the back pressure member 8 in the developing roller shown in FIG.

In the present invention, it is desirable to use a rubber blade as the layer regulating member 4a. In the conventional non-magnetic one-component developing method, there is an example in which a metal blade is used as a layer regulating member.However, when a metal blade is used, even when the same pressure is applied, the developer locally melts on the layer regulating member and the developing roller. Wear is easy to occur. It was confirmed that when a rubber blade was used, such local fusion of the developer was unlikely to occur. Further, Japanese Young's modulus is low low elastic rubber blade Among the rubber blade at all fused did not occur. Although the cause is not necessarily clear, when a roughened developing roller is used, when a convex portion of the developing roller surface comes into contact with the layer regulating member, a local shear force is applied to the rubber by a metal blade. It is estimated that it will be stronger than the blade. In the case of a metal blade, when the developer passes through such a high stress portion, a high stress is applied to the particles of the developer, so that it is considered that fusion is likely to occur.

On the other hand, among the rubber blades, particularly those having low elasticity, have good followability to the unevenness of the surface of the developing roller, and have a small stress difference between the concave portion and the convex portion. It is presumed that the stress is made uniform and the fusion hardly occurs. Therefore, the present invention particularly uses a low elastic rubber blade, means for improving the developability in the non-magnetic one-component developing method of a small particle size developer, which is a problem of the above-mentioned conventional technology, This was obtained as a result of intensive studies, and the details will be described below.

In the present invention, the method of fixing the layer regulating member to the developing device is a cantilever fixing method, and the free end needs to be positioned in the rotation traveling direction (with) of the developing roller. Under the same pressure, the developer layer formed was found to be thick and uniform with the comparison with the case where the free end was located in the direction opposite to the rotational direction (counter). That is, in the case of the counter, the developer layer becomes uniform, but the upper limit of the thickness of the developer layer is about 20 μm, which is insufficient for obtaining a sufficient image density. Also,
In the range where the pressure is low, the layer regulating member is likely to vibrate,
In some cases, the developer layer was not uniform, and the layer regulating member was sometimes involved in the rotation direction of the developing roller. In the case of a counter, under the condition that the edge of the free end is in contact with the developing roller, the developer is pushed back at the edge, and the thickness of the developer layer may be extremely thin, about 10 μm. On the other hand, with Wiz, the developer layer was uniform even under low pressure, and a layer thickness of about 30 to 60 μm was obtained. As a result, it was found that the supply amount of the developer for obtaining a sufficient image density could be secured. There was no vibration seen at the counter. Further, in the case of the with, regardless of whether the contact portion of the layer regulating member with the developing roller is at the edge or the abdomen, the developer layer formation is good,
The result was no problem at all.

The layer regulating member of the non-magnetic one-component developing system is generally a counter, but in the present invention, a relatively low elastic rubber blade is used. It is presumed that the roller easily exhibits a so-called stick-slip behavior, and the above-described vibration phenomenon is likely to occur. On the other hand, it is presumed that vibration is unlikely to occur in the width because the developing roller has a free end in the rotation direction and the sliding of the layer regulating member is stable. In the case of the counter, it is considered that the rotational force of the developing roller acts on the layer regulating member, and a torque acts in the direction of the developing roller. As a result, it is presumed that when the developing roller is rotated, a higher pressure acts than the set pressure when the developing roller is not rotated, which contributes to a reduction in the layer thickness.

In the present invention, the tangent line Y to the developing roller at the contact portion P between the layer regulating member and the developing roller is provided.
(Contact angle θ) formed between the layer and the fixing surface X of the layer regulating member 4a.
Is required to be 90 ± 10 °. When the contact angle of the layer regulating member made of the low elastic rubber blade in the present invention was examined, when the contact angle θ was small (5 to 30).
In (°), the layer thickness was excessively large at a maximum of about 100 μm, and fine aggregates of the developer were generated at the contact portion (layer forming portion) between the layer regulating member and the developing roller. The diameter of the developing roller in the present invention is about 10 to 50 mm. Next, when the contact angle θ was in the range of 30 to 80 °, generation of the above-mentioned aggregates was not observed, and although a good layer was formed in appearance, fogging and scattering were observed. This is because the charge amount (blow-off friction band weight) was about 3 to 5 μc / g, which was in a range suitable for flying development, but because of insufficient pressing, the developer and the layer regulating member / developing sleeve were not This is probably due to insufficient contact of the developer with the uncharged developer. Next, the contact angle θ
However, in the range of 90 ± 10 ° of the present invention, a uniform developer layer was formed, and the thickness of the developer layer was 40 to 80 μm, which was almost suitable for development. Further, there was little fog, and the developing density was sufficient at about 1.4 according to a Macbeth reflection densitometer, and no occurrence of scattering was observed. In this case, the charge amount was about 3 to 8 μc / g. Next, the contact angle θ
In the range of 100 to 120 °, a uniform layer was formed, but the layer thickness was as small as 20 to 30 μm and the developer supply amount was small. The charge amount is 15 to 3
It was as high as 0 μc / g. For this reason, although the occurrence of scattering and fogging is small, the developing density is as low as about 0.3 to 1.0, which is insufficient for practical use.

As described above, the contact angle is directly related to the pressing, and as a result, it is considered that the amount of conveyance of the developer as well as the amount of charge of the developer is greatly affected. That is, when the pressure is high, it is difficult for the developer to flow out of the layer forming portion, and the transport amount of the developer is reduced. On the other hand, if the pressure is low,
The transport amount of the developer increases. However, in the above example, it is considered that the two causes of the pressing and the contact angle are combined to affect the amount of the developer transported. Therefore, when the relationship between the contact angle and the amount of developer transported under a constant pressing condition was examined, the same pressing was performed when the contact angle was small and about 20 to 40 μm. About 1 /
2, indicating that the transport amount of the developer was small. Although the cause is not necessarily clear, when the contact angle is small, the flow of the developer into the layer forming portion is poor, and when the contact angle is large, the developer flows into the layer forming portion. Is smooth and suggests that the supply of the developer for forming the developer layer is sufficient. According to the study of the present inventors, the above tendency is remarkable when the developer has a small particle diameter, and in the case of a developer having a volume average particle diameter of several μm, the developer tends to be supplied to the layer forming portion. The contact angle θ of the layer regulating member is substantially perpendicular to the developing roller, that is, 9 °.
An essential requirement is 0 ± 10 °. In the experiment in which the contact angle was reduced while the pressure was constant, the thickness of the layer regulating member of the present invention in the thickness direction was increased to increase the bending force. Therefore, the influence on the material and surface properties such as the coefficient of friction of the layer regulating member such as a rubber blade is ignored.

Next, other factors related to the pressing in terms of the physical properties of the layer regulating member include the material and displacement of the layer regulating member. That is, regarding the material, the appropriate contact angle is determined by the difference in the repulsion force with respect to the bending force.
Even at 0 ± 10 °, if the bending force is too strong, excessive pressure is applied, and the supply amount of the developer becomes insufficient. Also,
Conversely, if the bending force is too weak, the pressure is too low and the layer formation becomes uneven. On the other hand, if the displacement amount is small, the pressing force is too weak, and if the displacement amount is large, the pressing force is too strong, and the same problems as described above occur. Thus, the material,
Both displacement amounts result in a problem resulting from pressing. In the present invention, the appropriate value of the pressing is 10 to 150 g / cm, desirably 15 to 120 g / cm, and as a condition satisfying this range, the displacement amount is the bottom of the fixing member 4b of the layer regulating member (blade). And the maximum distance M to the back of the layer regulating member 4a in the direction of the fixing surface, where M is 0.5 to
In the case of 3.0 mm, a blade material satisfying the above pressing range can be used. Rubber blades of various materials can be used as long as the characteristics described above are satisfied. Specific examples include silicone rubber and urethane rubber.

Next, a back pressure member which is another component of the present invention will be described. According to the study by the present inventors, as described above, the pressure of the layer regulating member, the contact angle, and the like are important factors for the layer formation itself of the developer. However, the present inventors have found that the control of the circulation state of the developer in the developing device is a very important factor with respect to the supply of the developer to the layer forming section, and have arrived at the present invention. That is, a part of the developer conveyed to the layer forming unit in the developing device is formed into a layer and conveyed to the developing unit, but most of the remaining developer is moved along the surface of the layer regulating member toward the layer regulating member fixing member. And is circulated into the developing device. In the absence of the back pressure member, the only thing that can be used for transporting the developer near the layer forming portion is the shearing force applied to the developer in the developing roller rotation direction by the rotation of the developing roller. The transport force in this case is negligible,
Even if a good developer layer is formed, the supply of the developer is hindered, for example, in the case of a black solid image with a high black ratio of the original, and the developing roller 1 is developed in the case of developing a black solid image. After the cycle, blurring may occur due to a shortage of the developing amount of the developer. Therefore, the backflow member controls the circulating flow of the developer, and the backpressure member uses the reaction force acting on the developer to increase the backpressure of the circulating developer applied to the layer forming section to increase the developer transportability. Can be significantly improved. As a result, they found that even originals with a high blackness ratio, such as a full black solid, did not cause any blurring. Further, they have found that if this back pressure member is used, no trouble such as memory will occur at all.

As described above, the purpose of installing the back pressure member is to increase the powder pressure of the developer to the layer forming portion by using the circulation of the developer in the developing device, thereby developing the developer. The purpose is to improve the supply capacity in the direction of the part. Therefore, as long as such an object can be achieved, there is no problem even if the bottom surface has a curved surface as shown in FIGS. According to the study of the present inventors, the shortest distance between the surface of the developing roller and the bottom of the back pressure member is the most important factor that determines the above function as the back pressure member. If the shortest distance, that is, the circulation control width Z is smaller than 0.5 mm, it is impossible to form a good layer in which the flow itself of the developer in the direction of the layer forming portion is not blocked. On the other hand, 20m
If it is more than m, the reaction against the circulation of the developer is difficult to work, and the powder pressure does not increase, so that the above effects cannot be expected. Therefore, the circulation control width Z is 0.5 mm to 20 mm.
You.

[0029]

In the non-contact developing method using a non-magnetic one-component developer, it is necessary that the developer does not fuse to the layer regulating member (blade) in order to stably obtain a good image. It is. Also, while ensuring the amount of developer transport to obtain a sufficient amount of development, even if the volume average particle diameter of the developer is a small particle diameter of several μm, uniform and individual particles of the developer. It is necessary to provide a mechanism of a developing device capable of giving sufficient charge. Since the rubber blade used as the layer regulating member in the present invention has low elasticity, it has good followability to minute irregularities on the surface of the developing roller, and has a small stress difference between the concave portion and the convex portion. The mechanical stress on the agent is reduced, and the fusion hardly occurs. Also, due to the above-mentioned problem of fusion, when a rubber blade having a low elasticity is used, the contact method with the developing roller is fixed to the developing device in a cantilever manner, and one free end of the rubber blade is fixed to the developing roller. The position (wiz) in the direction of rotation progresses to suppress occurrence of vibration and the like, and stable sliding was obtained. As a result, a uniform developer layer was obtained. In the above-mentioned contact method of the width, the contact angle is 90 ± 10 °, and the maximum distance M between the bottom of the fixing member of the layer regulating member and the back of the layer regulating member in the direction of the fixing surface of the layer regulating member (indentation). 0.5)
By adjusting the pressure to 3.0 mm and a pressure of 10 to 150 g / cm, that is, a linear pressure as a load on the developing roller of the layer regulating member, no fusing occurs and even if a developer having a small particle diameter is used, The developer could be charged uniformly and sufficiently while obtaining a uniform developer layer and a sufficient transport amount of the developer, and good developability could be obtained. Further, in the present invention, by installing a back pressure member on the fixing member of the layer regulating member, the circulation of the developer is controlled, and the powder pressure of the developer in the direction of the layer forming portion is increased, so that a favorable As a result, it was possible to obtain a sufficient supply of the developer, and it was possible to obtain good development without causing blurring due to an insufficient development amount even in a case where the black ratio was high, such as a black solid original. In addition, this method also eliminated problems such as memory.

In a non-contact developing method using a non-magnetic one-component developer, in order to improve flying developability,
It is necessary to keep the charge amount of the developer low. However, when the charge amount is too low, problems such as fog and scattering of the developer are likely to occur. For this reason, it is necessary that the charge amount of the developer is low, the charge amount of each developer particle shows an approximate value, and the width of the charge amount distribution is narrow and sharp. further,
When the particle size of the developer is as small as several μm, the specific surface area of the developer becomes large, so that the frequency of contact between the developer and the layer regulating member and the developing roller is reduced, and the developer is difficult to be uniformly charged.

[0031]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a suitable developing device used in the non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer developing method of the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates a relationship between a layer regulating member and a developing roller. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the layer regulating member, the amount of pushing, and the developing roller. Hereinafter, common parts of the first to fourteenth embodiments will be described. Regarding the components described in the embodiments, dimensions, accuracy, shape, material, arrangement, and the like are not limited to the description examples unless otherwise specified, but are merely examples for description. .
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a photosensitive drum which is a cylindrical electrostatic latent image holder, and a minimum distance between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller is set to 120 μm at a developing position. The rotation direction of the photosensitive drum is defined by the direction of the arrow in the figure. The surface roughness of the developing roller of No. 5 is set to 0.5 to 15 μm in Rz, and it is preferable to set Rmax to 20 μm or less. The material of the developing roller is made of aluminum or other non-magnetic metal material, and rotates in the direction of the arrow.
Reference numeral 4a denotes a layer regulating member, which is made of a low elastic rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 120 kgf / cm ² or less of silicone rubber or urethane rubber. Reference numeral 4b denotes a fixing member for the layer regulating member, which is fixed to the second hopper. The angle between the fixing surface of the fixing member 4b of the layer regulating member 4a and the tangent of the contact portion between the layer regulating member 4a and the developing roller 5 is 9
0 ± 5 °, and the distance M (push amount) between the bottom of the layer regulating member 4b and the back of the layer regulating member in the direction of the fixing surface of the layer regulating member 4a is 0.5 to 3.0 mm. Adjust the mounting position, material, shape, accuracy, etc. of each member as described above. Reference numeral 8 denotes a back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer, which is fixed to a blade fixing member. The shortest distance between the bottom surface of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface is adjusted to 0.5 to 20 mm. Reference numeral 6 denotes a developer leakage preventing and scraping member, which is made of a resin film such as a polyethylene terephthalate film or a nonwoven fabric such as a fluorine fiber paper and fixed to the hopper 2. The free end is in contact with the surface of the developing roller. The member 6 is not limited to the function of preventing leakage of the developer, but can also function as a member for imparting charge to the developer or a member for removing charge by appropriately selecting its material. The non-magnetic one-component developer of No. 3 is put into the hopper of No. 2, and supplied to the contact portion (layer forming portion) of Nos. 4a and 5 by the stirrer of No. 7. The non-magnetic one-component developer is carried and conveyed on the sleeve of the developing roller by the layer regulating member 4a so as to have a constant layer thickness (40 to 80 μm). Although the sleeve of the developing roller is provided with a constant gap of 120 μm from the photosensitive drum, an arbitrary interval of 90 to 150 μm can be selected as necessary. Although a DC voltage is basically applied to the sleeve, an AC voltage may be applied as necessary. The developer carried by the developing roller 5 is
The developer is conveyed by the rotation of the developing roller, comes close to the photosensitive drum 1 having the electrostatic latent image, is subjected to development, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized.

Next, the nonmagnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T1) used in Examples 1 to 8 of the present invention will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials are mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer (T) having a volume average particle diameter of 7.4 μm.
1) was obtained. Next, 1.0 part of hydrophobic alumina (trade name: RFY-C, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.) was added to 100 parts of the non-magnetic one-component developer, followed by stirring with a Henschel mixer for 2 minutes. Non-magnetic one-component developers used in Examples 1 to 8 were prepared.

[Blending of developer T1] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴⁾ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 4 parts of charge control agent (A) (a graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of Polymer type charge control agent comprising polymer C2 represented by the following formula 5) 2 parts of charge control agent (B) (Pigment type charge control agent of the following formula 6) 2 parts of polypropylene wax (Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) (Product name: Viscol 330P) Note: Each structural formula is as follows.

[0034]

Embedded image (In the formula, m represents an integer of 2 to 100.)

[0035]

Embedded image (In the formula, n represents an integer of 2 to 100.)

[0036]

Embedded image <Example 1>Young's modulus: 110 kg as a layer regulating member
Using a low elasticity silicone rubber blade of f / cm ² ,
It was attached to the developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 90 °. When the pushing amount is set to 1.5 mm, the linear pressure of the layer regulating member against the developing roller can be adjusted to about 70 g / cm, and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface is adjusted to 3 mm. Thus, a developing device compatible with the developing method of the present invention was obtained. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 2 A low-elasticity silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 70 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 90 °. When the pushing amount was set to 2.0 mm, the linear pressure was about 45 mm.
g / cm, and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 3 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 90 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 0.5 mm, the linear pressure was about 1
The developing device could be adjusted to 00 g / cm and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 4 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 90 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 3.0 mm, the linear pressure was about 2
The developing device could be adjusted to 5 g / cm and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 5 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was mounted on the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 85 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 1.5 mm, the linear pressure was about 6
The developing device could be adjusted to 0 g / cm and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 6 A low-elasticity silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 95 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 1.5 mm, the linear pressure was about 8
The developing device could be adjusted to 0 g / cm and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 7 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was mounted on the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 85 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 3.0 mm, the linear pressure was about 1
The developing device could be adjusted to 5 g / cm and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 8 A low elasticity silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle θ was 95 °. Also,
When the pushing amount was set to 0.5 mm, the linear pressure was about 1
The developing device was adjusted to 10 g / cm, and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm, thereby obtaining a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. The above-mentioned developer (T1) was used as the non-magnetic one-component developer.

Example 9 Next, a non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as T2) used in Example 9 of the present invention will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.6 μm. Next, 100 parts of the non-magnetic one-component developer was added to a hydrophobic alumina (trade name: R, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.).
FY-C) and add 2 parts with a Henschel mixer.
By stirring for one minute, the non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 9 was obtained.

[Compounding of developer T2] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴⁾ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 4 parts of charge control agent (A) (graft polymer having a graft chain represented by the following structural formula 1) (C1) and a polymer type charge control agent comprising a polymer (C2) having the following structural formula 2)-2 parts of polypropylene wax (trade name: Viscol 330P, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) ) And the developing device described in Example 1.

<Embodiment 10> Next, Embodiment 10 of the present invention will be described.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as T3) used in the first embodiment will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.2 μm. Next, 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer was added to a hydrophobic alumina (trade name, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.).
RFY-C) was added and stirred with a Henschel mixer for 2 minutes to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 10.

[Blend of developer T3] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-
Butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn:
2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 2 parts of charge control agent (B) (Charge control agent) 2 parts of polypropylene wax (trade name: Viscol 330P, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) Development was performed by combining the developer (T3) with the developing device described in Example 1.

[0048]

Embedded image Embodiment 11 Next, a non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as T4) used in Embodiment 11 of the present invention will be described.
In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.5 μm. Next, a hydrophobic alumina (trade name: RFY-C, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.) was added to 100 parts of the non-magnetic one-component developer.
Was added and stirred with a Henschel mixer for 2 minutes to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 11.

[Compounding of developer T4] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-
Butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn:
2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 6 parts of charge control agent (A) (grafted chain consisting of the following formula 8) Polymer-type charge control agent comprising a graft polymer (C1) having the formula (I) and a polymer (C2) comprising the following chemical formula 9) 2 parts of a charge control agent (B) (a pigment-type charge control agent of the following chemical formula 10) -2 parts of polypropylene wax (trade name: Viscol 330P, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) Development was performed by combining the developer (T4) and the developing device described in Example 1.

[0050]

Embedded image

[0051]

Embedded image

[0052]

Embedded image

Embodiment 12 Next, Embodiment 12 of the present invention will be described.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T5) used in the first embodiment will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.4 μm. Next, 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer was added to a hydrophobic alumina (trade name, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.).
RFY-C) and 0.8 part of barium sulfate fine powder (BF-1P, manufactured by Sakai Chemical Co., Ltd.) were simultaneously added, and the mixture was stirred for 2 minutes with a Henschel mixer to obtain a non-magnetic material used in Example 12. This was a one-component developer.

[Blend of developer T5] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴⁾ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 4 parts of charge control agent (A) (graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of (C1) and a polymer-type charge control agent comprising a polymer (C2) represented by the following formula 12) 2 parts of charge control agent (B) (a pigment-type charge control agent of the following formula 13) 2 parts of polypropylene wax ( (Sanyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., product name: VISCOL 330P)

[0055]

Embedded image

[0056]

Embedded image

[0057]

Embedded image The development was performed by combining the developer (T5) and the developing device described in Example 1.

<Thirteenth Embodiment> Next, a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as T6) used in the first embodiment will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.4 μm. Next, 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer was added to a hydrophobic alumina (trade name, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.).
RFY-C) and 1.0 part of zinc oxide fine powder (Bastran Type II 2410 manufactured by Mitsui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.) were simultaneously added, and the mixture was stirred for 2 minutes with a Henschel mixer to obtain a non-water-soluble powder used in Example 13. This was a magnetic one-component developer.

[Blend of developer T6] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴⁾ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 4 parts of charge control agent (A) (a graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of Polymer type charge control agent composed of polymer (C2) represented by the following formula 15) 2 parts of charge control agent (B) (Pigment type charge control agent of the following formula 16) 2 parts of polypropylene wax (Sanyo Chemical Co., Ltd.) (Manufactured by Kogyo Co., Ltd .: Viscole 330P)

[0060]

Embedded image

[0061]

Embedded image

[0062]

Embedded image The development was performed by combining the developer (T6) and the developing device described in Example 1.

<Embodiment 14> Next, Embodiment 14 of the present invention will be described.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter, referred to as T7) used in the first embodiment will be described. In the examples, parts are parts by weight. The raw materials were mixed in the following composition, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.4 μm. Next, 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer was added to a hydrophobic alumina (trade name, manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.).
RFY-C) was added thereto, and the mixture was stirred with a Henschel mixer for 2 minutes to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 14.

[Blending of developer T7] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴⁾ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) 10 parts of carbon black (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) 4 parts of charge control agent (A) (graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of C1) and a polymer-type charge control agent comprising a polymer (C2) represented by the following chemical formula (18): 2 parts of a charge control agent (B) (a pigment-type charge control agent of the following chemical formula (19)); Polymerized resin 7 parts (TOMACHI Co., Ltd. product name: SIMAC)

[0065]

Embedded image

[0066]

Embedded image

[0067]

Embedded image The development was performed by combining the developer (T7) and the developing device described in Example 1.

<Embodiment 15> In Embodiment 1, Embodiment 15 of the present invention was achieved by setting the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface to 1 mm.

Embodiment 16 Embodiment 16 of the present invention was changed to Embodiment 16 by setting the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface to 15 mm.

<Comparative Example 1> A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was mounted on the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was a counter. At this time, the linear pressure is about 20 g / cm
Met. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1).

<Comparative Example 2> A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 25 °. The linear pressure was about 35 g / cm. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1).

<Comparative Example 3> A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was mounted on the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 70 °. The linear pressure was about 55 g / cm. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1).

<Comparative Example 4> A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with, and the contact angle was 110 °. The linear pressure was about 130 g / cm. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1).

[0074] <Comparative Example 5> layer regulating member, the Young's modulus: the 110 kgf / cm ²
Using a low-elastic silicone rubber blade, as shown in FIG.
It was attached to a developing device. The contact method is with and the contact angle
Was 90 °. Also, set the pushing amount to 0.2mm
As a result, the linear pressure was 160 g / cm.
A single-component developing device was used. Bottom of back pressure member and development three
The shortest distance from the contact surface was 3 mm. Also, the developer
Developed using (T1).

[0075] <Comparative Example 6> layer regulating member, the Young's modulus: the 110 kgf / cm ²
Using a low-elastic silicone rubber blade, as shown in FIG.
It was attached to a developing device. The contact method is with and the contact angle
Was 90 °. Also, set the pushing amount to 4.5mm
As a result, the linear pressure was about 5 g / cm.
A one-component developing device was used. Bottom of back pressure member and developing sleeve
The shortest distance from the surface was 3 mm. Also, the developer
Developed using (T1).

Comparative Example 7 As the layer regulating member, a Young's modulus of 190 kgf / cm ² was used.
Using a silicone rubber blade with relatively high elasticity,
Was attached to the developing device corresponding to. The contact method is with,
The contact angle was 90 °. The pushing amount is 1.0mm
, The linear pressure is about 300g / cm,
The comparative non-magnetic one-component developing device was used. With the bottom of the back pressure member
The shortest distance from the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Also before
Development was performed using the developer (T1) described above.

Comparative Example 8 A high elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 230 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and was attached to the developing device shown in FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 25 °. The linear pressure was about 70 g / cm. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1).

<Comparative Example 9 > The same as in Example 1 except that the developing device of Comparative Example 2 and the same formulation as the developer (T1) of Example 1 had a volume average particle diameter of 12.5 μm. (T1)
L).

Comparative Example 10 Comparative Example 10 was the same as Example 1, except that the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 0.3 mm.

Comparative Example 11 Comparative Example 11 was the same as Example 1 except that the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was 30 mm.

<Comparative Example 12 > Comparative Example 12 is the same as Example 1, except that the back pressure member was removed.

With respect to the above-mentioned Examples and Comparative Examples of the non-magnetic one-component developing method, characteristics were evaluated by using a modified machine of a commercially available copying machine. The surface potential of the photosensitive drum is -700V
, And the developing bias was set to -100V. The surface of the developing roller was subjected to a surface roughening treatment by a sand blast method, and Rz was 2 μm and Rmax was 6 μm. All the dimensions relating to the other developing devices were the values described in Examples and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the contents of the developing device and the developer in the developing method of the example, and the evaluation results at the initial stage and after 5,000 copies, and Table 2 shows the contents and evaluation results of the comparative example. The evaluation method and evaluation criteria are as shown below. Fusing to layer regulating member Initial stage: The surface condition of the layer regulating member during continuous imaging of 50 sheets was visually checked. After 5,000 sheets: The surface state of the layer regulating member after the 5,000 sheets of imaging was visually checked. Evaluation criteria: ○ indicates that no fusion occurred. Δ indicates that some fusion occurred, and it was judged that the level affected the image. Uniformity of Toner Layer Initially after 5,000 sheets, the state of the toner layer formed on the developing roller surface was visually evaluated. Evaluation criteria: ○ indicates that it is uniform over the entire area from the rear to the front and the circumferential direction. The symbol “Δ” indicates that a slight unevenness occurs in the circumferential direction and the level affects the image. X indicates that unevenness or toner aggregation occurs in the circumferential direction and in the rear to front directions, and the influence on the image is large. Charge Amount The charge amount of the toner layer formed on the developing sleeve was directly measured using a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical Corporation). The developing device is electrically connected directly to the connection point of the Faraday gauge of the blow-off charge amount measuring device, and the counter charge when the toner layer is suctioned and removed is measured. The charge amount is obtained by dividing the measured value.

Image density A solid image of the non-magnetic one-component developer transferred from the photosensitive drum to the transfer paper was measured with a Macbeth reflection densitometer (trade name: RD-914, manufactured by Macbeth). After fog development, the non-image area on the photosensitive drum before transfer is peeled off with a mending tape (manufactured by Sumitomo 3M) and attached to unused transfer paper. Thereafter, the reflection density is measured in the same manner as the image density. Fine line reproducibility A line image transferred from the photosensitive drum to the transfer paper was observed with a measuring microscope. Evaluation criteria: ◎ means that 7 cycles / mm or more could be resolved. ○ indicates that 5 to 6 cycles / mm can be resolved.
7 or more could not be resolved. △ is 3 to 4 cycles / m
m could be resolved, but 5 or more could not be resolved. ×
Can be resolved at 2 cycles / mm or less, but not at 3 or more. Here, "resolution" means that there is almost no thin line blur and amount in both the process vertical and horizontal directions.

Solid Black Reproducibility The extent of blurring when a solid black image of the entire transfer paper was captured was visually determined. Evaluation criteria ○-A uniform black solid image was obtained without any blur. Good black solid image was obtained up to the second round of the developing roller, but after that, when blurring is observed, or less than three vertical stripes due to blade fusion occur, or due to poor layer formation In the case where unevenness has occurred and the density difference between the portions where unevenness has occurred and no occurrence is less than 0.05, a good black solid image was obtained until the first rotation of the developing roller. The following is the case where blurring is observed, or when three or more vertical stripes are generated due to blade fusion, or when unevenness due to defective layer formation occurs, and the density difference between portions where unevenness has occurred and where no unevenness has occurred is zero. In the case of 0.05 or more, the degree of appearance of an afterimage taken in the first rotation after the first rotation of the memory developing roller was visually evaluated. Good: no memory phenomenon occurred, and good images were obtained. Δ: When the memory phenomenon occurs, but the density difference between the afterimage portion and the non-afterimage portion is less than 0.05 as measured by Macbeth densitometer RD-914. X-When the memory phenomenon occurs and the density difference between the afterimage portion and the non-afterimage portion is 0.05 or more. In Tables 1 and 2, the Young's modulus of the rubber layer regulating member in the thickness direction was determined by performing a compression test using a Tensilon type testing machine (UCT-500, manufactured by Orientec Co., Ltd.) as a reference value. presentation. As is clear from Table 1, in the developing methods according to Examples 1 to 16 according to the present invention, in the course of continuous copying of 5000 sheets from the beginning of copying, no fusion of the developer was generated on the surface of the layer regulating member, and the developing roll The uniformity of the developer layer on the top was also good. In addition, good image quality such as image density could be maintained.

On the other hand, when the contact method was set to the counter in Comparative Example 1, the layer regulating member vibrated, and unevenness of the developer layer occurred in the front-rear direction of the transfer paper. All of the examples of the present invention and other comparative examples are all with width, and no such vibration phenomenon was observed. In Comparative Example 1, unevenness also occurred in the circumferential direction. From these points, in the present invention, it was confirmed that the suitable method of contacting the layer regulating member was the with.

Comparative Examples 2 to 4 show examples in which the contact angle is set outside the range of the present invention. Comparative Example 2 has a contact angle of 25.
In this case, the unevenness in the circumferential direction of the developer layer occurred, and continuous imaging could not be performed in the initial evaluation. Next, Comparative Example 3 was a case where the contact angle was set to 70 °. Although the layer formation was good, the result was that the charge amount was low and the fog was large. Also, the image density is low. In continuous imaging, scattering occurred and the test was interrupted halfway up to 5000 sheets. Next, in Comparative Example 4, when the contact angle was increased to 110 °, the result was that the charge amount was slightly high and the image density was low. After 5,000 sheets, some fusion occurred to the layer regulating member. From the above, it was confirmed that the contact angle is preferably around 90 ± 5 ° which is the range of the present invention. In each of Comparative Examples 2 to 4, the back pressure member is within the scope of the present invention, but the setting condition of the layer regulating member is out of the range of the present invention, and the layer formation is disturbed (Comparative Example 2).
Also, in the case where fusion occurs to the layer regulating member after copying a large number of sheets (Comparative Example 4), solid black may be reproduced or memory may occur.

In Comparative Example 5, the pushing amount was set to 0.2 mm.
In this case, the pressure is increased.
Non-uniformity of toner layer and image deterioration after 00 sheets
Was. In Comparative Example 6, the pushing amount was set to 4.5 mm.
This is an example where the pressure is reduced. In this case, the toner layer formation is defective.
Met. Also, as in Comparative Examples 3 and 4, the back pressure
Even if the material is within the scope of the present invention, the setting of the layer regulating member is
It is out of the scope of the invention, and when the layer formation is poor or when the pressure is strong
If excessive fusion occurs, do the back pressure members work effectively?
Shows an example.

In Comparative Example 7, the linear pressure on the layer regulating member was increased.
An example is shown below. In this case, the pressure is too high and the
Some fusion to the blade was noted. Due to fusion,
The vertical stripes caused by this are black solid in the copy paper flow direction.
Appeared in the statue.

Comparative Example 8 shows an example in which the contact angle is reduced. In this case, although no fusion occurs initially,
After 000 sheets, some fusion was observed, and with this, streaks occurred on the black solid. Further, the toner conveyance amount was too small to obtain a sufficient image density.

In Comparative Example 9 , it was expected that a sufficient conveyance amount could be obtained because the pressure was low, but the result was that the conveyance amount was small and the image density was low. This result is presumed to be due to a decrease in the toner conveyance amount because the contact angle is small.

Comparative Example 10 shows a case where the position of the back pressure member is set to be equal to or less than the lower limit based on the configuration of the developing device of Example 1. In this case, the setting of the layer regulating member itself is within the scope of the present invention, and although the image density, fog, and fine line reproduction were good, the position of the back pressure member was too low, and after 5000 copies, the image density was reduced. A decrease was observed. Comparative Example 11 shows an example in which the position of the back pressure member was set to the upper limit or more. However, the powder pressure of the developer by the back pressure member was not sufficient, and black solid reproduction and memory problems occurred. Comparative Example 12 has no back pressure member, but the image density, fog, and fine line reproduction are good because the setting of the layer regulating member is within the range of the present invention. Because of the low powder pressure, the solid black reproduction and memory were poor. As described above, all the various image characteristics were simultaneously improved by the combination of the layer regulating member and the back pressure agent of the present invention, and the significance of the developing method of the non-magnetic one-component developer of the present invention became clear.

[0092]

[Table 1]

[0093]

[Table 2]

[0094]

According to the present invention, the layer regulating member is provided as described above.
By using a developing device in which the cantilever is set in the forward direction (with) with respect to the rotation direction of the developing roller and the pressure is adjusted to an appropriate range in a method of making contact with the developing roller almost perpendicularly, the developing device is mounted on the developing roller. A uniform layer of developer can be obtained, and by using a back pressure member, the developer can be continuously and stably supplied to the developing section, resulting in good black solid reproducibility and memory prevention effect. Could be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a layer regulating member and a developing roller.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a layer regulating member, a pushing amount, and a developing roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoconductor drum 2 hopper 3 developer 4 a layer regulating member 4 b fixing member 5 developing roller 6 leakage prevention and scraping member 7 stirrer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiromi Totsuka 3-1 Yosoba Tomoecho, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside of the Technical Research Laboratory of Hamikawa Paper Mill Co., Ltd. No.3-1 Inside the Technical Research Laboratory of Hamakawa Paper Mills Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihiro Sano No.3-1 Yomibacho, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside of the Technical Research Laboratory of Hamikawa Paper Mills Co., Ltd. (56) References JP Showa 60 JP-A-51855 (JP, A) JP-A-60-208780 (JP, A) JP-A-54-51848 (JP, A) JP-A-2-146070 (JP, A) JP-A-2-149871 (JP, A) JP-A-2-308276 (JP, A) JP-A-4-127177 (JP, A) JP-A-4-293058 (JP, A) JP-A-4-318575 (JP, A) JP-A-5-Japanese 113719 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 1 5/08-15/095

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A layer regulating section which supplies a non-magnetic one-component developer to a developing roller and has a Young's modulus of 120 kgf / cm ² or less.
A thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by the material, and a charge is applied. The non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by a potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller, thereby holding an electrostatic latent image. A non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer developing method in which a photosensitive drum is developed in a non-contact manner and then transferred to a transfer material, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered to a developing device. A back end member having a flat or curved bottom surface for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device in a fixed portion of the layer regulating member, the free end of which is located on the side of the developing roller in the rotation direction of the developing roller; The shortest distance between the bottom of the pressure member and the developing roller surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and the contact angle θ between the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 9
0 ± 10 °, the bottom of the fixing member of the layer control member and the layer control
Maximum distance to the back of the layer regulating member in the direction of the fixed surface of the member
Is 0.5 to 3.0 mm, and the developing roller of the layer regulating member
Load is 10 to 150 g / cm at linear pressure
Developing method of a non-magnetic one-component developing agent characterized by that. 2. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member having a Young's modulus of 120 kgf / cm ² or less. A non-contact type in which an electric charge is applied, the non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by a potential difference between the photosensitive drum and a developing roller, and is developed in a non-contact manner on a photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image, and then transferred to a transfer material. A non-magnetic one-component developer developing method, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, a free end is located on the side of the developing roller in the rotational direction, and a fixing portion of the layer regulating member. A back pressure member having a flat or curved bottom surface for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device, the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing roller surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and , Layer regulating member and developing roller Fixing surface of the tangent and the layer regulating member against the development roller at the contact portion of the over forms an abutment angle theta 9
0 ± 10 °, the bottom of the fixing member of the layer control member and the layer control
Maximum distance to the back of the layer regulating member in the direction of the fixed surface of the member
Is 0.5 to 3.0 mm . 3. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member, and is charged.
The non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by a potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller, developed in a non-contact manner on the photosensitive drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transferred to a transfer material. A developing method of the component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, a free end is located on a side of the developing roller in the rotational direction, and a fixing portion of the layer regulating member is provided inside the developing device. A back pressure member having a flat or curved back surface for controlling the circulation of the developer, wherein the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing roller surface is 0.5 to 20 mm, and a layer regulating member. The contact angle between the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion of the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 °, and the load on the developing roller of the layer regulating member is 10 to 150 g at a linear pressure.
/ Cm, a non-magnetic one-component developer.