JP3287678B2 - Electrophotographic photoreceptor, electrophotographic apparatus and apparatus unit having the electrophotographic photoreceptor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a protective layer containing conductive particles. Further, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus and an apparatus unit having the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electrophotographic photoreceptors, of course, have required sensitivity, electrical characteristics and optical characteristics according to the electrophotographic process to be applied. Since electric and mechanical external forces such as corona charging, toner development, transfer to paper, and cleaning are directly applied to the surface, durability against these is required.

More specifically, durability is required against the occurrence of scratches on the surface of the photoreceptor due to rubbing and the deterioration of the surface of the photoreceptor due to ozone generated during corona charging. In addition, there is a problem that toner adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor due to repetition of toner development and cleaning, and it is required to improve the cleaning property of the surface of the photoreceptor. Furthermore, durability is required for, particularly repeatedly charged photoconductor resistance decreases caused by adhering to the corona product photoreceptor surface of factors such as ozone and NO _X generated by the high humidity.

Attempts have been made to provide a protective layer containing a resin as a main component on the photosensitive layer in order to satisfy the various characteristics required for the photosensitive member surface as described above. For example, JP
JP-A-7-30843 reports a protective layer in which resistance is controlled by adding metal oxide particles as conductive particles.

[0005]

However, in the conventional method, the dispersibility of the particles in the binder resin may not be sufficient, which may adversely affect the conductivity and transparency of the protective layer. As a result, phenomena such as an image defect due to unevenness of the protective layer, an increase in residual potential upon repeated use, and a decrease in sensitivity sometimes occurred. Further, even when the particles are uniformly dispersed in the protective layer, scattering of the incident light by the dispersed particles occurs, the transparency of the layer is reduced, and the image quality may be lowered or the potential characteristics may be changed.

Hitherto, it has been known to use particles smaller than the wavelength of incident light in order to prevent such scattering and obtain a protective layer having high transparency. However, in general, the smaller the particle size is, the easier it is to aggregate, and it tends to be difficult to uniformly disperse the particles. It was very difficult to produce.

With the recent trend toward higher image quality and higher durability, electrophotographic photoconductors satisfying the above characteristics at a higher level are being studied.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a protective layer having excellent transparency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member capable of stably obtaining excellent images even when used repeatedly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of obtaining excellent images in an environment ranging from low temperature and low humidity to high temperature and high humidity.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic apparatus and an apparatus unit having the above electrophotographic photosensitive member.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems That is, the present invention has a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a protective layer on the photosensitive layer, the volume resistivity of the protective layer 10
¹⁰ to 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm, the protective layer contains conductive particles and a binder resin, and the average of primary particles of the conductive particles
The conductive particles have a particle diameter of 0.1 to 1.0 μm, the conductive particles have a base particle, and a coating layer containing a conductive substance on the surface of the base particle, and the base particle is barium sulfate; The coating layer has a thickness of 0.002 to 0.1 μm,
But acrylic resin, epoxy resin, phenolic resin, c
Urethane resin, melamine resin, polyimide, silicon tree
Fat, polycarbonate, polyimide acid resin, and it
At least one selected from the group consisting of these copolymers
An electrophotographic photoconductor , wherein the difference between the refractive index of the conductive particles and the refractive index of the binder resin is 0.3 or less.

Further, the present invention is an electrophotographic apparatus and an apparatus unit having the above electrophotographic photosensitive member.

The electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention has a protective layer containing conductive particles and a binder resin.

In the present invention, the difference between the refractive index of the conductive particles and the refractive index of the binder resin is 0.3 or less.
It is particularly preferred that it is 0.2 or less. Incidentally, the refractive index in the present invention is measured by Abbe refractometer (ATAGO, ATAGO).
-1T).

The conductive particles are obtained by imparting conductivity to the base particles. The method of imparting conductivity is
This is a method of forming an extremely thin layer containing a conductive substance on the surface of the base particles .

The compounds used in the base particles, the difference between the refractive index of the binder resin at the time of forming the conductive particles ne 0.3
Ri, choice of materials, such as solvents widely, barium sulfate having an excellent dispersibility and dispersion stability.

In the case of the present invention in which the conductivity is provided by surface coating, the conductive material used may be a metal oxide such as tin oxide, zinc oxide and indium oxide, or gold,
Silver, nickel and aluminum. The thickness of the coating layer is 0.002 to 0.1 μm , and particularly preferably 0.005 to 0.02 μm.
If the film thickness is too small, sufficient conductivity may not be obtained, while if too thick, the refractive index may be too large. Examples of the method for forming the layer include a wet method in which a conductive substance is deposited on the surface of the base particles, and an evaporation method.

Since the protective layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention has very excellent transparency, it is not necessary to prevent light interference by reducing the particle size of the conductive particles. Therefore, in the present invention, in consideration of dispersibility and dispersion stability, the average particle size of the primary particles of the conductive particles is 0.1 to 1.0.
μm der is, particularly preferably from 0.3 to 0.7 [mu] m.

In the present invention, a surface modifier such as a silane coupling agent or silicone oil may be used to further improve the dispersibility and environmental stability.

Further, as the binder resin, as described above, since various external force is applied to the photoreceptor surface, an acrylic resin, epoxy resin, phenol resin, urethane resin, melamine resin, polyimide, silicone resin, polycarbonate and Ru using the polyimide acid resin. In the present invention, two or more kinds of resins may be used as a mixture, or a copolymer may be used.

The protective layer of the present invention is formed by applying a solution in which conductive particles are dispersed in a binder resin, followed by drying and curing. The thickness of the protective layer is preferably from 0.1 to 15 μm, and particularly preferably from 0.5 to 5 μm. The volume resistivity of the protective layer of the present invention is 10
¹⁰ to 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm.

The photosensitive layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention may be composed of a so-called single layer containing both a charge generating substance and a charge transporting substance, or a charge transporting layer containing a charge transporting substance and a charge generating substance. Any of the so-called stacked type in which the function is separated into the contained charge generation layer may be used. Examples of the configuration of the laminated photosensitive layer include those having a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer laminated in this order on a conductive support, and those having a conductive support, a charge transport layer and a charge generation layer laminated in that order. No.

The charge generation layer is made of an azo pigment such as a monoazo pigment, a disazo pigment or a trisazo pigment; a quinone pigment; a quinocyanine pigment; a perylene pigment; an indigo pigment such as indigo and thioindigo; Disperse a charge generating substance such as a pigment in a binder resin such as polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl benzal, polyarylate, polycarbonate, polyester, polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate, acrylic resin, polyurethane, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, ethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate butyrate, This dispersion is formed by coating and drying. The thickness of the charge generation layer is preferably 5 μm or less, and particularly preferably 0.1 μm or less.
It is preferably from 0.5 to 2 μm.

The charge transport layer comprises a polycyclic aromatic compound having a structure such as biphenylene, anthracene, pyrene and phenanthrene in the main chain or side chain; a nitrogen-containing cyclic compound such as indole, carbazole, oxadiazole and pyrazoline; hydrazone It is formed by applying a coating solution in which a compound; and a charge transport substance such as a styryl compound are dissolved in a resin having a film-forming property, and then drying. Examples of the resin having a film forming property include polyester, polycarbonate, acrylic resin, polyarylate, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer, polymethacrylate, polystyrene, poly-N-vinylcarbazole, and polyvinylanthracene. The thickness of the charge transport layer is preferably 5 to 40 μm, particularly preferably 10 to 3 μm.
It is preferably 0 μm.

When the photosensitive layer is of a single layer type, the same substances as described above can be used. However, as the charge transporting substance, a charge transfer complex comprising a combination of poly-N-vinylcarbazole and trinitrofluorene or the like is further used. It can also be used. The film thickness is preferably from 5 to 40 μm, and particularly preferably from 10 to 30 μm.

In the present invention, an intermediate layer can be provided between the photosensitive layer and the protective layer in order to further improve the adhesive property, the coating property and the like. The materials used are casein,
Polyvinyl alcohol, nitrocellulose, ethylene-
Acrylic acid copolymer, alcohol-soluble polyamide,
Examples include polyurethane, gelatin, and aluminum oxide. The thickness is preferably from 0.1 μm to 10 μm, particularly preferably from 0.3 μm to 2 μm.

The conductive support used in the present invention may be any conductive support, for example, metals and alloys such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, chromium, nickel, zinc and stainless steel; aluminum A metal foil such as copper or copper laminated on a plastic film; aluminum, indium oxide, tin oxide or the like deposited on a plastic film; or a conductive layer applied by applying a conductive substance alone or with an appropriate binder resin Examples include metal, plastic film, and paper. As such a conductive substance,
Metal powders such as aluminum, copper, nickel and silver; metal foils and short metal fibers; conductive metal oxides such as antimony oxide, indium oxide and tin oxide; polypyrrole;
Polymer conductive materials such as polyaniline and polymer electrolytes; carbon fiber, carbon black, and graphite powder; organic and inorganic electrolytes; and conductive powder whose surface is coated with these conductive substances. The shape of the conductive support can be any shape such as a drum shape, a sheet shape, or a belt shape depending on the applied electrophotographic apparatus.

In the present invention, an undercoat layer having a barrier function and an adhesive function may be provided between the conductive support and the photosensitive layer. Examples of the material used include those similar to the intermediate layer between the protective layer and the photosensitive layer.
The film thickness is preferably from 0.1 to 5 μm,
More preferably, it is 3 μm. The undercoat layer may contain conductive particles such as metal, metal oxide and carbon black, and the undercoat layer containing conductive particles on the conductive support and the undercoat layer not containing Can be laminated in this order. In this case, the thickness of the undercoat layer containing the conductive particles is preferably 0.1 μm to 50 μm, particularly preferably 0.5 μm to 40 μm.

The above-mentioned various layers are formed using an appropriate solvent.
It can be formed by applying a coating method such as a dip coating method, a spray coating method, a beam coating method, a spinner coating method, a roller coating method, a Meyer bar coating method and a blade coating method, and then drying.

The electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention can be applied not only to electrophotographic apparatuses in general, such as copying machines, laser beam printers, LED printers, and liquid crystal shutter printers, but also to displays using electrophotographic technology.
It can be widely used for recording, light printing, facsimile and laser plate making.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus using the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention, which is driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of an arrow around a shaft 1a. The photoreceptor 1 receives a uniform charge of a predetermined positive or negative potential on the peripheral surface thereof by a charging means 2 during the rotation process, and then applies an image exposure L (slit) to an exposure unit 3 by an image exposure means (not shown). Exposure and laser beam scanning exposure). In this way, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the exposure image is sequentially formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor.

The formed electrostatic latent image is then developed.
The toner developed image is transferred to a transfer material P fed from a paper supply unit (not shown) by the rotation of the photoconductor 1 between the photoconductor 1 and the transfer unit 5 in synchronization with the transfer unit. 5
Are sequentially transferred.

The transfer material P having undergone the image transfer is separated from the photoreceptor surface, introduced into the image fixing means 8 and subjected to image fixing, and printed out as a copy (copy) outside the machine.

The surface of the photoreceptor 1 after the image transfer is cleaned and cleaned by removing the untransferred toner by the cleaning means 6, and then subjected to static elimination by the pre-exposure means 7, and is repeatedly used for image formation.

In the present invention, among the above-mentioned components such as the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1, the charging means 2, the developing means 4 and the cleaning means 6, a plurality of components are integrally connected as an apparatus unit. The unit may be configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body. For example, a unit is formed by integrally supporting at least one of the charging unit 2, the developing unit 4 and the cleaning unit 6 together with the photoreceptor, and the unit is detachably attached to the apparatus main body using a guide unit such as a rail of the apparatus main body. It may be a unit.

In the case where the electrophotographic apparatus is used as a copying machine or a printer, the light image exposure L involves irradiating the photosensitive member with light reflected or transmitted from the original, or reading the original with a sensor. The signal is converted into a signal, and scanning of a laser beam, driving of an LED array, driving of a liquid crystal shutter array, and the like are performed in accordance with the signal to irradiate the photosensitive member with light.

On the other hand, when used as a facsimile printer, the light image exposure L is an exposure for printing received data. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of this case.

The controller 11 controls the image reading section 10 and the printer 19. The whole controller 11 is CP
It is controlled by U17. The read data from the image reading unit is transmitted to the partner station through the transmission circuit 13. Data received from the partner station is sent to the printer 19 through the receiving circuit 12. Predetermined image data is stored in the image memory. The printer controller 18 is the printer 1
9 is controlled. 14 is a telephone.

The image received from the line 15 (image information from a remote terminal connected via the line) is demodulated by the receiving circuit 12 and then decoded by the CPU 17 and sequentially stored in the image memory 16. Is stored. When the image of at least one page is stored in the memory 16, the image of the page is recorded. The CPU 17 has a memory 16
The image information of one page is read out and the decoded image information of one page is sent to the printer controller 18.
Upon receiving the image information of one page from the CPU 17, the printer controller 18 controls the printer 19 to record the image information of the page. The CPU 17 is receiving the next page during recording by the printer 19.

As described above, image reception and recording are performed.

[0043]

【Example】

Experimental Example 1 2 parts by weight of conductive barium sulfate particles (barium sulfate having a coating layer made of tin oxide, n _D = 1.7, average particle diameter of primary particles 0.3 μm, coating layer thickness 0.015 μm) and resol 18 parts by weight of the phenolic resin (n _D = 1.7) and 10 parts by weight of methyl alcohol were mixed and dispersed for 20 hours. After applying the prepared paint on a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film,
By heating for 15 minutes, a layer having a thickness of 15 μm was formed.

The transmittance of the layer thus formed was measured with an ultraviolet / visible spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation).
UV-2200). Table 1 shows the results.
As can be seen from the table, this layer has a sufficiently high transmittance even if the film thickness is large, and the loss of incident light due to scattering is extremely small.

Experimental Examples 2 and 3, Comparative Experimental Example 1 A resin layer containing conductive particles was prepared in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1 except that the conductive particles described in Table 1 were used, and the transmittance was measured. It was measured. Table 1 shows the results. Experimental example 2,
3 indicates that the transmittance is sufficiently high even if the film thickness is large, and the loss of incident light due to scattering is small.

Comparative Experimental Example 2 Conductive titanium oxide particles (n _D = 2.
A conductive particle-containing resin layer was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 6) was used, and the transmittance was measured. Table 1 shows the results.

[0047]

[Table 1]

Experimental Examples 4 and 5 A conductive particle-containing resin layer was prepared in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1 except that the binder resin and the solvent described in Table 2 were used, and the transmittance was measured. However, in Experimental Example 5 , the film thickness was 10 μm. Table 2 shows the results.

[0049]

[Table 2]

Comparative Experimental Example 3 Conductive zinc oxide particles (nD = 2.0) as conductive particles
A conductive particle-containing resin layer was prepared in the same manner as in Experimental Example 5 except that the resin was used, and the transmittance was measured. Table 3 shows the results.

[0051]

[Table 3]

Example 1 On an aluminum cylinder (30φ × 260 mm)
Alcohol-soluble polyamide (Amilan CM-800
0, manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) 10 parts by weight and methoxymethylation 6
Nylon (Toresin EF-30T, Teikoku Chemical Co., Ltd.)
30 parts by weight of methanol 150 parts by weight and butanol 1
A coating material dissolved in 50 parts by weight of a mixed solvent was applied by a dip coating method, and dried at 90 ° C. for 10 minutes to form an undercoat layer having a thickness of 1 μm.

Next, 5 parts by weight of an azo pigment represented by the following formula is

[0054]

[Outside 1] It was dispersed in 90 parts by weight of tetrahydrofuran with a sand mill for 20 hours. Add butyral resin (Eslec BL
-S, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.) was added to a solution prepared by dissolving 2.5 parts by weight of tetrahydrofuran in 20 parts by weight, and the mixture was dispersed for 2 hours. A solution obtained by adding 100 parts by weight of tetrahydrofuran and 100 parts by weight of cyclohexanone to this dispersion and diluting it is applied on the intermediate layer by a dip coating method, and dried at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes to obtain a charge having a thickness of 0.2 μm. A generating layer was formed.

Next, a styryl compound 5 represented by the following formula:
0 parts by weight,

[0056]

[Outside 2] 50 parts by weight of polycarbonate (Iupilon Z-200, manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Ltd.)
A solution dissolved in 0 parts by weight was applied on the charge generation layer by a dip coating method, and dried at 120 ° C. for 1 hour to form a charge transport layer having a thickness of 20 μm.

Next, the conductive barium sulfate used in Example 1 (barium sulfate having a coating layer containing tin oxide,
n _D = 1.7) 50 parts by weight, 50 parts by weight of an acrylic monomer represented by the following formula (n _D = 1.5 of a polymer obtained by a polymerization reaction of this monomer),

[0058]

[Outside 3] As a photochemical reaction initiator, 2-methylthioxanthone 0.1.
A mixture of 05 parts by weight and 150 parts by weight of toluene was dispersed in a sand mill for 70 hours. This paint is applied on the charge transport layer by a spray coating method, and after drying,
Irradiation was performed with a high-pressure mercury lamp at a light intensity of 8 mW / cm ² for about 20 seconds to form a protective layer having a thickness of 5 μm.

The coating material for the protective layer had stable characteristics without aggregation and sedimentation of the conductive particles due to long-term storage and a change in the viscosity of the coating material.

The prepared electrophotographic photosensitive member was mounted on a copying machine in which a charge-exposure-development-transfer-cleaning process was repeated in a cycle of 1.5 seconds, and the temperature was 20 ° C. and the humidity was 50%
Under normal temperature and normal humidity (N / N), evaluation of electrophotographic characteristics and visual image evaluation, and under low temperature and low humidity (L / L) at a temperature of 10 ° C. and a humidity of 15%, and at a temperature of 35 ° C. and a humidity of 85% Image evaluation under high temperature and high humidity (H / H)
In addition, repeated image output durability tests under normal temperature and normal humidity
I went ten thousand copies. As a result, the sensitivity and the residual potential were equivalent to those of the electrophotographic photoreceptor having no surface layer in Comparative Example 1 described later, and an excellent image without unevenness or black spots could be obtained under each environment. Moreover, an excellent image could be obtained stably even during repeated use of 100,000 sheets. Table 4 shows the results. The dark area potential (V _D ) is the surface potential of the photoconductor when charged by corona discharge of -5 kV,
Sensitivity (E1 / 2) is the exposure amount required to attenuate the surface potential to 1/2, and residual potential ( _Vr ) is the surface potential of the photoconductor after pre-exposure.

Example 2 An electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the conductive barium sulfate (n _D = 1.7) used in Experimental Example 2 was used as the conductive particles. . Table 4 shows the results.

[0062]

Example 3 An electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the protective layer was formed as described below.

The conductive barium sulfate 50 used in Example 1
Parts by weight, ammonia resol resin (manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc., phenolite J-325, n _D = 1.
6) A mixture of 50 parts by weight and 100 parts by weight of methanol was dispersed in a sand mill for 20 hours. This paint is applied on the charge transport layer by a spray coating method.
By heating and curing at 30 ° C. for 30 minutes, a protective layer having a thickness of 5 μm was formed. Table 4 shows the results.

Comparative Example 1 An electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that no protective layer was provided. As a result, the image density was low under normal temperature and normal humidity, and under high temperature and high humidity, image deletion occurred from the beginning.

Comparative Example 2 An electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the conductive zinc oxide particles (n _D = 2.0) used in Comparative Experimental Example 2 were used as the conductive particles. evaluated. As a result, the sensitivity was lowered, and black spots were generated on the image under high temperature and high humidity.

[0067]

[Table 4]

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a protective layer having excellent transparency, having excellent durability and environmental stability, and an electronic device having the electrophotographic photosensitive member. A photographic device and a device unit could be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus having an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block diagram of a facsimile having the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention 1a shaft 2 Charging means 3 Exposure unit 4 Developing means 5 Transfer means 6 Cleaning means 7 Pre-exposure means 8 Image fixing means L Optical image exposure P Transfer material 10 Image reading unit 11 Controller 12 Receiving circuit 13 Transmission circuit 14 Telephone 15 Line 16 Image memory 17 CPU 18 Printer controller 19 Printer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazuma Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-63-200158 (JP, A) JP-A Sho 56-143443 (JP, A) JP-A-63-113459 (JP, A) JP-A-1-129260 (JP, A) JP-A-63-307461 (JP, A) JP-A-60-111255 (JP, A A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 5/147

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A has a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a protective layer on the photosensitive layer, the protective
The layer has a volume resistivity of 10 ¹⁰ to 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm,
The protective layer contains conductive particles and a binder resin ;
The primary particles have an average particle size of 0.1 to 1.0 μm.
The conductive particles have a base particle and a coating layer containing a conductive material on the surface of the base particle, the base particle is barium sulfate, and the coating layer has a thickness of 0.002 to 0 .1
μm, and the binder resin is an acrylic resin, an epoxy resin
Fat, phenolic resin, urethane resin, melamine resin,
Polyimide, silicone resin, polycarbonate, polyimide
Doic acid resin, and selected from the group consisting of their copolymers
An electrophotographic photoreceptor , wherein the difference between the refractive index of the conductive particles and the refractive index of the binder resin is 0.3 or less. 2. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the difference between the refractive index of the conductive particles and the refractive index of the binder resin is 0.2 or less. 3. The coating layer has a thickness of 0.005 to 0.0.
3. The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, which has a thickness of 2 μm. 4. An average particle diameter of primary particles of said conductive particles.
Is 0.3 to 0.7 μm.
The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to the above. 5. A method according to claim 1 electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of 4 to transfer means for forming an electrostatic latent image, means for developing the formed electrostatic latent image and the developed image to the transfer material An electrophotographic apparatus comprising means. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to any one of claims 6] claims 1-4, and charging means, at least one means selected from the group consisting of the developing means and cleaning means integrally supported, and the apparatus main body An apparatus unit, which is detachable.