MXPA00006303A - Polythiophene filled xerographic component coatings - Google Patents

Abstract

A xerographic component having a substrate and thereover a coating with a thiophene filler dispersed or contained therein is set forth.

Description

COATINGS OF XEROGRAPHIC COMPONENTS FILLED WITH POLYTOOPHEN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to material coatings filled with thiophene for xerographic components useful in xerographic applications including digital, image-on-image, and electrostatic contact applications. In particular, the present invention relates to material coatings filled with thiophene for transfer / transfusion, intermediate transfer, charge by deflection, transfer by deflection, fusion, and similar xerographic components. In embodiments, coatings of thiophene-filled material may be useful as the outermost coatings, intermediate coatings, or as adhesives between other polymer layers. Also, coatings of thiophene-filled material may be useful in dry and liquid organic pigment applications and in organic colored pigment applications. The material coatings filled with thiophene, in the modalities, allow the desired adjustment and control of the resistivity, and also allow a great increase in the stability to the temperature, hydrolytic and light. The REF.119366 material coatings filled with thiophene are easily manufactured and have greater stability. The electrical properties of many xerographic components such as transfer members, deflectable members, fusion members, transfusion members and other similar xerographic components, is a very important characteristic of the xerographic component. If the desired electrical properties of a xerographic component are not obtained, a multitude of copying or printing faults can occur. Examples of such adverse results include decrease in copy quality, defects in copy quality, printing failures, and decrease in the life of the xerographic component. Most of these adverse results are due to poor release of organic pigment caused by the xerographic component that does not possess the desired resistivity. Adverse results often also occur when the xerographic component does not retain its desired resistivity over time. A type of xerographic component is a transfer member that includes intermediate transfer and transfer components. Transfer / transfer members allow for positive attributes such as allowing high throughput at modest processing speeds, improving the registration of the final colored organic pigment image in colo systems using the synchronized development of one or more colored components using one or more transfer stations the increase in the range of final substrates that can be used. However, a disadvantage of using a transfer / transfer member is that a plurality of transfer steps are required allowing the possibility of a load exchange to occur between the organic pigment particles and the transfer member, which ultimately leads to a transfer of organic pigment less than complete. The result and images of low resolution on the substratum receptor d images and deterioration of the images. When the image is color, the image may additionally suffer from color deflection and color deterioration. In addition, the incorporation of fillers in liquid developers, while providing images of acceptable quality and acceptable resolution due to the improved charge of the organic pigment, can exacerbate the problem of charge exchange between the organic pigment and the intermediate transfer member. Preferably, the resistivity of the transfer / transfer member is within a preferred range to allow sufficient transfer. It is also important that the intermediate transfer or transfer member has a controlled resistivity, where resistivity is virtually unaffected by changes in moisture, temperature, deviation field and operation time. In addition, a controlled resistivity is important since a deflection field can be established for electrostatic transfer. It is important that the transfer / fastening member is not too conductive, possibly a breakage of air can occur. Other xerographic components include charging devices. Charge members by charge contact by deflection operate by applying a voltage to load receiving member (photoconductive member). Tapping load members by deflection requires a resistivity of the entire load member within a desired range Specifically, materials with too low resistivities will cause a short short and / or unacceptably high current flow to the photoconductor. Matters with too high resistivities will require unacceptably high voltages. Other problems that may result if the resistivity is not within the required range include a low charge potential and a non-uniform charge, which can result in poor image quality. Therefore, it is desired in deflectable members that the resistivity be designed at a desired range and that the resistivity remain within this desired range. As a consequence, it is desirable that the resistivity is not affected or is virtually unaffected by changes in the relative humidity temperature, operating time, and leaching of contamination filtration to the photoconductors. Fusing the organic pigment to a copied substrate is an important step in the xerographic process and the fuser members are another type of xerographic component. It is important in the melting process that minimal or no deviation of the organic pigment particles from the support towards the melting member occurs during normal operations. The deviation of organic pigment particles on the fuser member can subsequently be transferred to other parts of the machine or on the support in the subsequent copying cycles, thus increasing the background or interference with the material that is being copied there. The so-called "hot deviation" occurs when the temperature of the organic pigment is increased to a point where the organic pigment particles liquefy a separation of molten organic pigment takes place during the melting operation with a remanent portion on the melting member. The hot deflection temperature or degradation of the hot deflection temperature is a measure of the release property of the melter, and consequently it is desirable to provide a melting surface which has a low surface energy to provide the necessary release. To ensure good release properties of the melter, it has become customary to apply release agents to the melter roll during the melting operation. Typically, those materials are applied as thin films of, for example, silicone oils to prevent the deviation of organic pigment. It is desirable that after melting, virtually no organic pigment is left on the melting member, and if so, subsequent copies will be contaminated. Therefore, it is desirable to increase the release properties of fuser member. Efforts have been made to design the resistivity of the xerographic components, and to obtain a controlled resistivity of these components once the desired resistivity has been achieved. Those methods have included adding conductive fillers or carbon black to the outer layer. Although the addition of ionic additives to elastomers can partially control the resistivity of the elastomers to some degree, there are problems associated with the use of ionic additives. In particular, undissolved particles often appear in the elastomer, which causes an imperfection in the elastomer. This leads to a non-uniform resistivity, which in turn, leads to poor transfer properties and poor mechanical strength. In addition, bubbles appear in the conductive elastomer. These bubbles provide the same kind of difficulty as the undissolved particles in the elastomer, namely poor or non-uniform electrical properties, poor mechanical properties such as the durometer, tensile strength, elongation, a decrease in the modulus and a decrease in the tenacity of the material. In addition, the ionic additives themselves are sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity, operating time and field applied. These sensitivities often limit the range of resistivity. For example, resistivity usually decreases up to two orders of magnitude or more when humidity increases from 20% to 80% relative humidity. This effect limits the operational or process latitude. In addition, ionic transfer can also occur in these systems. Ion transfer will lead to contamination problems, which in turn can reduce the life of the machine. Ionic transfer also increases the resistivity of the limb after repetitive use. This can limit the latitude of process and operational and eventually, the component filled with ions will be useless. Fillers of conductive particles, such as carbons, have also been used in an attempt to control resistivity. In general, carbon additives control the resistivities and provide stable resistivities after changes in temperature, relative humidity, operating time, and leaching or filtration or contamination of the photoconductors. However, the carbon particles are poorly dispersed and elastomers. In addition, the required tolerance in the filler load to achieve the required resistivity range has been extremely narrow. This, together with the large variations from "batch to batch", leads to the need for an extremely rigorous resistivity control. In addition, the surfaces filled with carbon have typically had a very poor dielectric strength and some significant dependence on resistivity over the applied field. This leads to a compromise in the choice of the central resistivity due to the variability of the electrical properties, which in turn, ultimately lead to a compromise in the operation. Adding black smoke has also resulted in many problems including the need to have thick films and the inability to obtain transparent coatings. Therefore, it is desirable to provide xerographic components, where the resistivity of the coatings can be designed and controlled. In addition, it is desired to provide xerographic components having an outer layer which has a relatively high stability, is easily manufactured, and has a relatively high transparency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The embodiments of the present invention include: a xerographic component comprising: a) a substrate; on it b) a coating comprising a polymer having a thiophene filler dispersed therein. In an optional embodiment, an intermediate layer is placed between the substrate and the outer layer is filled with thiophene. In another embodiment, an external coating is placed on top of material filled with thiophene. The embodiments also include: a xerographic component comprising: a) a substrate comprising a polymer; and on it b) a coating comprising a polymer having a thiophene filler dispersed therein. The embodiments also include: an image forming apparatus for forming images on a recording medium comprising: a surface that retains charge to receive a latent electrostatic image thereon; a deflectable component capable of receiving an electrical deviation to load one of a xerographic component or a copying substrate; a developing component for applying organic pigment to the surface that retains charge to reveal the latent electrostatic image to form a revealed image on the surface that retains charge; a component that transfers charge to transfer the revealed image of the surface that retains charge to a copied substrate; and a fuser component for melting the developed image to a surface of the copying substrate, wherein at least one of the deflectable component, the transfer component and the fuser component comprise: a) a substrate; and on it b) a coating comprising a polymer having a thiophene filler dispersed therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention, reference has been made to the following accompanying figures. Figure 1 is an illustration of a general electrostatic apparatus. Figure 2 is a schematic view of an image development system containing a load member by deflection. Figure 3 is a schematic view of an image development system containing a deviating transfer member.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of an image developing system containing a fuser band and combi-nation with a pressure roller. Figure 5 is an elongated view of a cylindrical fuser roller. Figure 6 is a schematic view of an image development system containing a member d transfixción. Figure 7 is a schematic view of an image developing system containing an intermediate transfer member d. Figure 8 is a sectional view of a xerographic component having an external layer filled with thiophene. Figure 9 is a sectional view of a xerographic component having an optional intermediate layer and an external cap filled with thiophene. Figure 10 is a sectional view of a xerographic component having an optional intermediate layer having a thiophene filler dispersed therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention relates to coatings filled with thiophenes useful for xerographic components. The xerographic components are useful in xerographic or electrostatic applications, including image over image, digital and electrostatic contact printing applications. The xerographic components include, but are not limited to, fuser members including fusion or fixation members, donor members, pressure member and the like; transfer members including transfer members by diversion, intermediate transfer, transfer and the like; members of cargo including diversion members and similar members to handle documents; and similar member. In general, the electrostatic copying process is initiated by exposing a luminous image of an original document on a photoreceptive member charged in a substantially uniform manner. The exhibition of. photoreceptor member charged to a luminous image discharges a photoconductive surface thereon in areas corresponding to non-image areas in the original document, while maintaining the charge in the image areas, thereby creating a latent electrostatic image of the original document on the image. photoreceptor member. This latent image is subsequently revealed in a visible image by depositing charged developing material such as organic pigment on the photoreceptor member, so that the developing material is attached to the areas of the image loaded on the photoconductive surface. Subsequently, the developing material, and more specifically organic pigment, is transferred from the photoreceptor member to a copy sheet or to some other image support substrate to create an image which can be permanently fixed to the image support substrate , thereby providing an electrophotographic reproduction of the original document. In a final step in the process, the photoconductive surface of the photoreceptor member is cleaned to remove any residual developing material that may remain on the surface thereof in preparation for successive image formation cycles. Several useful components will be described in the electrophotographic or electrostatic process. Deviable members include diversion transfer members and diversion load members. The organic pigment material can be transferred from a first image support surface (i.e., a photoreceptor), together with a second image support substrate (i.e., a copy sheet) under the influence of electrostatic force fields generated by an electrically deflected member, where charge is deposited on the second image support substrate by, for example, a transfer member by deflection or spraying the charge on the upper part of the substrate. With respect to the transfer of organic pigment, after the developing material is advanced in contact with the latent electrostatic image, the organic pigment particles are deposited on the image configuration, the revealed image can be transferred to a sheet of copying. It is advantageous to transfer the developed image to a network, band or coated intermediate transfer component, and subsequently transfer with a very high transfer efficiency the developed image of the intermediate transfer member to a permanent substrate. After the organic pigment image is transferred to a copy sheet via an intermediate transfer member, the organic pigment image is melted or fixed to the heat copy sheet. Various methods for melting the organic pigment electroscopic images include providing the application of heat and pressure substantially concurrently by various means, a pair of rollers held in contact by pressure, a band member in contact by pressure with a roller, a member of band in contact by pressure with a heater, and the like. The heat can be applied by heating one or both rollers, plate members, or band members. The fusion of the organic pigment particles takes place when s provides the proper combination of heat, pressure contact time. The balance of these parameters to allow the fusion of organic pigment particles is well known in the art, and can be adjusted to the conditions of particular machines or processes. Referring to Figure 1, in a typical electrostatic reproduction apparatus, a luminous image of an original to be copied is recorded in the form of a latent electrostatic image on a photosensitive member the latent image is subsequently converted into a visible image by means of the Application of electroscopic thermoplastic resin particles which are commonly known as organic pigment Specifically, photoreceptor 10 is charged on its surface by means of a charger 12 which has been supplied with a voltage from an energy source 11. The photoreceptor is then exposed to light throughout the image from an optical system or an image input apparatus 13, such as a laser and a light emitting diode, to form a latent electrostatic image thereon. latent electrostatic is revealed by contacting a developer mixture of the developing station 14 in contact with sta. Development can be effected by use of a magnetic brush, powder cloud, or other known process disclosed. After the organic pigment particles have been deposited on the photoconductive surface, in the image configuration, they are transferred to a copied sheet 16 by transfer means 15, which can be transfer by pressure or electrostatic transfer. Alternatively, the revealed image may be transferred to an intermediate transfer member and subsequently transferred to a copied sheet d. After completing the transfer of the revealed image, the copying sheet 16 is advanced towards the fusion station 19, described in FIG. 1 as a melting and pressing roller, where the developed image is fused to the copying sheet 16 by passing the copying sheet 16 enters the fusing member 20 and the pressing member 21, thereby forming a permanent image. The photoreceptor 19 after the transfer advances to the cleaning station 17, where any organic pigment left on the photoreceptor 10 is cleaned therefrom. In Figure 1 s shows a wiper blade 22, although other cleaning methods such as brush cleaning can be used, network cleaning, diversion cleaning, or other similar and known cleaning methods.

Figure 2 demonstrates one embodiment of the charging system herein including a bypass charging device 12A having a charging member 2A kept in contact with an image carrier implemented as a photoconductive drum 10. However, the present invention can also be used to charge a dielectric receiver or other suitable member to be charged. The photoconductive member 10 may be a drum or a band or other known photoconductive member. An optional DC and AC voltage is applied from a power source 11 to the charging member 2A to load the photosensitive member I0. The energy is supplied either directly to the charging member 2A or supplied to the charging band 2A via a member supplying deflection 7. The charging band 2A has an outer layer of material filled with thiophene 5. Figure 3 demonstrates a modality of the transfer system of the present including a bypass transfer device 12B having a bypass transfer member 2B kept in contact with an image carrier implemented as a photoconductive drum 10. The photoconductive member 10 may be in the form of a band or drum or other suitable photoconductor member. It is applied to an optional DC and AC voltage from a power source 11 to the bypass transfer member 2B to have it load the back side of the copying substrate 16 to attract the organic pigment 4 of the photoreceptor 10 to the copying substrate 16. The energy is supplied either directly to the bypass transfer member 2B or supplied to the bypass transfer member 2B via a bypass supply member 7. The bypass transfer member 2B has an outer layer of thiophene-filled material 5. A deviation can be provided to the deviant member in several ways. A deflection may be provided to the deflectable member through another deflectable member such as a deflectable supply member (e.g., element 7 in Figure 2) capable of receiving a deviation from a source of electrical deflection (such as 11 in the Figures 1, 2, and 3), wherein the source of electrical deviation is connected to the diverting supply member for directing or supplying electrical current to it, and wherein the diverting supply member is capable of transferring or supplying the load to the member of charge by deviation or member of transfer by deviation. The divertable supply member may be in direct contact or in contact by load with the deflectable or deflectable load transfer member, so that the deflectable load member or deflectable transfer member is capable of receiving and transferring or spraying the load to the substrate, such as a photoreceptor or copying substrate. In an alternative embodiment, the deviation may be provided directly to the load member by deviation or the transfer member by deviation. As discussed above, the deflectable member may be in the form of a roller, band, sheet, sleeve or film. The deviation can be applied through axes, for example, stainless steel shafts. An advantage of using a band mode is that a region can be designed prior to the point of contact or after the largest point of contact. For operation in CA / CD, when a CD deviation exceeds a certain limit, a microcorona may be generated in both regions before the contact point and after the contact point, which may result in the photoreceptor charging. A region before the contact point and after the largest point of contact can increase the efficiency of the photoreceptor load. Therefore, a band configuration for the deflectable member is preferred. The deviation is typically controlled by the use of a DC potential, and an AC potential is typically used in conjunction with the DC control potential to assist in charge control. The advantage of using CA lies in reducing the sensitivity to surface contamination and to ensure that the load is uniform.

The CA creates a corona in the regions before the point of contact and after the point of contact of the devices, so that the charge component related to the injection of charge at the point of contact is less important. The AC deviation system is proportional to the speed of the process. This sometimes limits the application of deflection devices to low speed machines. The use of CA in addition to the CD increases the cost of the system. Therefore, it is desirable to use only CDs. However, using only CD deviation usually requires materials with an optimal, stable resistivity. Otherwise, the use of CD deviation will only result in non-uniform loading and breakage of the previous point of contact. Since the present surfaces, in the embodiments, allow for the optimum and stable resistivities set forth herein, the deflectable member of the present invention may only include a DC deflection charging system, without the need for an AC deviation. In addition, the present invention can be used with an electrode field designing with an electrode substrate, or with a double deflection field designing without electrodes. Those last two methods are useful with a stationary film loading system or bypass transfer films.

Figure 4 shows a sectional view of an example of a melting station 19 having a heating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1, a heat-resistant film 24 an image-fixing film 24 in the form of an endless band enters or is contained around three parallel members, i.e., a drive roller 25, or tracking roller 26 of metal and a low thermal capacity linear heater 23 placed between the drive roller 25 and the tracking roller 26. A pressure roller 21 is in contact by pressure with the heated 23, which has a heater base 27, with the bottom of the fixing film 24 between them. After a start signal for forming the image, an image of non-fixed organic pigment is formed on a recording material in the image forming station. The sheet of the recording material P having an image of organic pigment not fixed Ta on it is guided on a guide 29 to enter between the fixing film 24 and the pressure roller 21 at the point or contact line N (fixing point ) provided by the heater 23 and the pressure roller 21. The sheet P passes through the contact point between the heater 23 and the pressure roller 21 together with the fixing film 24 without deflection, folding or lateral deflection of the surface while the surface containing the organic pigment image is in contact with the lower surface with the fixing film 24 moving at the same speed as the sheet P. The heater 23 is supplied with electrical energy at a predetermined time after generation of the. start signal of image formation, so that the organic pigment image is heated at the contact point to be softened and melted into a softened or melted image Tb. The sheet P is then discharged into the discharge tray. At the moment when the sheet P is discharged, the pigment has cooled and solidified sufficiently and therefore is completely fixed (image of organic pigment Te). Figure 5 demonstrates a melting member 20 in the form of a cylindrical member, having an internal heater 1 (although the heater may be external or internal and external), the substrate 3 and the outer layer of material filled with thiophene. The transfer and fusion can occur simultaneously in a configuration of transfer. As shown in Figure 6, the transfer apparatus 15 is described as a fastening strip 6 which is held in place by the roller drive 28 and the hot roller 8. The hot roller 8 comprises a heating element 9. The transferring band 6 is driven by the drive rollers 28 in the direction of the arrow 18. The developed image of the photoreceptor 10 (which is directed in the direction 17 by the rollers 29) is transferred to the transfer band 6 when contact occurs with the photoreceptor 10 and the band 6. The pressure roller 30 helps transfer the developed image of the photoreceptor 10 to the transfer band 6 •.

The transferred web is subsequently transferred to the copying substrate 16 and fixed simultaneously to the copying substrate 16 by passing the copying substrate 16 in the direction of the arrow 18 between the web 6 (containing the developed image) and the pressing roller 21. A contact point is formed by the hot roller 8 and the pressure roller 21. Figure 7 demonstrates another embodiment of the present invention and discloses a transfer apparatus 15 comprising an intermediate transfer member 31 positioned between the forming member 10 and a transfer roller 32. In the multiple imaging system of Figure 7, each image that is being transferred is formed on the imaging drum by the image forming station 13, and then developed in the developing station 14 and transferred to the intermediate transfer member 31. Each of the images can be formed on the drum photo receiver 10 and sequentially developed and then transferred to the intermediate transfer member 31. In an alternative method, each image can be formed on the photoreceptor drum 10, developed, and transferred in register with the intermediate transfer member 31. Specifically, the particles of charged organic pigment 33 from the developing station 14 are attracted and maintained by the photoreceptor drum 10 because the photoreceptor drum 10 has a charge 34 opposite that of the organic pigment particles 33. In Figure 7, the pigment particles organic are shown negatively charged and the photoreceptor drum 10 is positively charged. These charges can be reversed, depending on the nature of the organic pigment and the machinery that is being used. A deflected transfer roller 32 positioned opposite the photoreceptor drum 10 has a voltage greater than that of the surface of the photoreceptor drum 10. The deflected transfer roller 32 charges the rear side 35 of the intermediate transfer member 31 with a positive charge 37. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a crown or any other loading mechanism may be used to load the rear side 35 of the intermediate transfer member 31. The negatively charged organic pigment particles 33 are attracted to the front side 36 of the transfer member intermediate 31 by the positive charge 37 on the rear side 35 of the intermediate transfer member 32. Preferably, the polymer material filled with thiophene is used as an outer layer on a xerographic component. Preferably, the thiophene filler is a conductive material. More preferably, the thiophene filler has the following formula I: where A denotes an optionally substituted C? -C alkylene radical, such as, for example, methylene, ethylene, propylene, butylene or the like, and preferably is a methylene radical optionally substituted with alkyl, a 1,2-ethylene radical optionally substituted with C 1 -C 1 alkyl or phenyl, or a 1,2-cyclohexylene radical. Preferably, the thiophene filler material is composed of structural units of the formula I. Examples of optionally substituted C 1 -C 4 alkylene radicals include the 1,2-alkylene radicals which are derived from 1,2-dibromo -alkanes, since they can be obtained from the bromination of α-olefins, such as ethene, 1-propene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, 1-dodecene and styrene; in addition, 1,2-cyclohexylene, 2,3-butylene, 2,3-dimethylene, 2,3-butylene and 2,3-pentylene radicals may be mentioned. The preferred radicals are the methylene, 1,2-ethylene and 1,2-propylene radicals for this embodiment. A particularly preferred thiophene filler material is 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene (EDT), which is commercially available as BAYTRON M from Bayer Industries Chemicals Division, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In another embodiment, the thiophene fillers are polyethylene dioxythiophenes. The details of the compound of Formula 1, and the process for manufacturing it can be found in US Pat. No. 5,035,926, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The layer filled with thiophene can also be used as an intermediate layer or an adhesive layer. Preferred thiophene fillers having excellent adhesive characteristics include polyethylene dioxythiophenes. Examples of polyethylene dioxythiophenols include a composition comprising a mixture of polyethylene dioxythiophene and polystyrene sulphonic acid, for example, radicals having the following Formulas II and III which together describe the polyethylene dioxythiofen polystyrene sulfonate (PEDT / PSS): (Formula II) wherein n in Formula II is a number from about 1 to about 1000, preferably from about 1 to about 100, and (Formula III) wherein n in Formula III, n is a number from about 1 to about 100, preferably from about 1 to about 50. A composition comprising Formula II in combination with Formula III is commercially available as BAYTRON® P from Bayer. Preferably, the thiophene-filled material is present in the outer layer or as an intermediate or adhesive layer. The thiophene filler is present in the layer in an amount from about 0.1 to 25 percent by weight, preferably from about 0.5 to about 15 percent by weight. The solids . Total, as used herein, refers to the total amount of solid material, including fillers, polymers and additives, in the layer. Additional additives and / or fillers may be present in the outer layer or intermediate layer of thiophene-filled material. Specifically, the additives that may be useful are those listed in columns 6-8 of U.S. Patent 5,298,956, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In a preferred embodiment, a particulate filler is not incorporated in the surface coating. However, conductive control additives and particles can be mixed with thiophene fillers to achieve a conductivity range. In theory the filler can be particularized or joined with the material of the layer, instead of being dispersed in the material.

An embodiment wherein the thiophene-filled material is used as the outer layer of a xerographic component is described in Figures 8 and 9. In Figure 8, the substrate 40 has an outer layer 42 present on the substrate 40 (Figure 8). The outer layer 42 is filled with thiophene filler 44. In Figure 9, the xerographic component comprises the substrate 40, and on it an intermediate layer 41, and on it an outer layer 42. The outer layer 42 has thiophene filler 44 dispersed or contained in it. In an embodiment where the thiophene-filled material is used as an external layer of a xerographic component, it is desirable that the xerographic component comprises a substrate. Suitable substrates for xerographic components include rollers, webs, sheets or sheets, films, webs, thin sheets of metal, strips, coils, endless webs, circular discs or the like. If the component is in the form of a band, it can include an endless band, an endless stitched flexible band, a seamless, endless flexible band, an endless band having combined cut seams and the like. It is preferred to comprise a substrate in the form of a flexible, sewn, endless, or stitched flexible band, which may or may not include combined cut seams. Examples of such bands are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,487,707; 5,514,436; and US Patent Application Serial No. 08/297, 203 filed on August 29, 1994, the description of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. A method for manufacturing reinforced, seamless webs is disclosed in U.S. Patent 5, 409, 557, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. If the substrate is a web, sheet, film, web, endless web, or the like, the substrate may comprise polyamide or pcliimide polymers such as polyamide imide, polyimide, polyaramide, polyflamid; and other polymers such as polyphenylene sulfide, polyethylene naphthalate, epoxides, butadiene-styrene-acrylonitrile (ABS) polycarbonates, polyacrylics, polyvinyl fluoride, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyether ketone (PEEK), and urethanes. Preferred urethanes include polycaprolactone polyester, polyether, and urethanes, available from Uniroyal, Bayer, Conap and others. Other suitable substrate materials include fabrics, metals and elastomeric materials. If the substrate is in the form of a cylindrical roll or band, the roll or band may comprise a metal such as aluminum, tin, stainless steel, nickel or the like, or may comprise a heat-resistant elastomeric material such as urethanes, EPDM , nitriles, f luorocarbon elastomers, silicone rubbers, epichlorohydrin and the like. In an embodiment as described in Figure 9, an intermediate layer 41 is positioned between the outer layer 42 and the substrate 40. Examples of suitable intermediate layers include rigid and conformable polymers, including thermosetting and thermosetting polymers. Examples of thermosetting and thermosetting polymers include fluoropolymers, chloropolymers, silicone rubbers, polyimides, polyamides, polypropylenes, polyethylenes, polybutylenes, polyarylenes, acrylonitriles, polycarbonates, polysulfones, ethylene diene propene monomer, nitrile rubbers and mixtures thereof. . Typically, the intermediate layer is used to impart formability to different substrates during the printing process. Intermediate coatings of particularly useful fluoropolymers include materials such as TEFLON® such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer (FEP), perfluorovinylalkylether tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (PFA TEFLON®), polyethersulfone, fluorosilicones, copolymers and terpolymers thereof , and similar. Also preferred are fluoroelastomers such as those described in detail in U.S. Patent 5,166,031; 5,281,506; 5,366,772; 5,370,931; 4,257,699; 5,017,432; and 5,061,965, the description of each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These fluoroelastomers, particularly of the class of copolymers, terpolymers and tetrapolymers of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene and possibly monomers that cure on site, are commercially known under various designations such as VITON A®, VITON B®, VITON E60C® , VITON E430®, VITON 910®, VITON GH®, VITON GF®, VITON E45®, VITON A201C®, and VITON B50®. The VITON® designation is a trademark of E.l. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Other commercially available materials include FLUOREL 2170®, FLUOREL 2174®, FLUOREL 2176 ', FLUOREL 2177® and FLUOREL LVS 76®, FLUOREL® being a trademark of 3M Company. Additional commercially available materials include AFLAS® a poly (propylene tetrafluoroethylene) and FLUOREL II® (LII900) a poly (propylene tetrafluoroethylene vinylidene fluoride) both also available from 3M Company, as well as TECNOFLONS® identified as FOR-60KIR®, FOR-LHF®, NM® FOR-THF®, FOR-TFS®, TH®, TN505® available from Montedison Specialty Chemical Company. In another preferred embodiment, the fluoroelastomer is one that has a relatively low amount of vinylidene fluoride, such as in VITON GF®, available from E.l. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. VITON GF® has about 35 weight percent vinylidene fluoride, about 34 weight percent hexafluoropropylene and about 29 weight percent tetrafluoroethylene with about 2 weight percent which cures in the site. The monomer that cures at the site may be that available from DuPont such as 4-bromoperfluorobutene-1,1,1-dihydro-4-bromoperfluorobutene-l, 3-bromoperfluoropropene-1,1,1-dihydro-3- bromoperfluoro-propene-1, or any other monomer that cures at the proper, known, commercially available site. Other suitable fluoropolymers include hybrid fluoroelastomers such as grafted fluoroelastomers by volume, titmers, grafted titmers, ceramics, grafted cerammers and the like. Adhesives may be present between the intermediate layer and the substrate, and / or between the intermediate layer and the outer layer. Suitable adhesives include ultraviolet thermal plastics and thermosetting adhesives such as polyesters, epoxies, urethane, polyimide, polyamide, polyvinylbutyryl, silicones and other adhesives stable at high temperatures. In a modality described in Figures 8 and 9, preferably, the resistivity of the outer layer filled with thiophene is from about 200 to about 1012 ohms / sq, preferably from about 104 to about 1010 ohms / sq. In experiments, it has been shown that in addition to the thiophene filler in an intermediate polyimide layer it resulted in a decrease in the resistivity of a resistivity originated prior to coating of about 1012 up to one after coating of the thiophene-filled material of approximately 104 ohms. / sq. This decrease in resistivity due to the application of the material filled with thiophene allows to design the resistivity for specific applications. For example, in highly conductive devices of the xerographic process such as the diverting member, an aquitron or other charging devices are required to charge the photoconductor. Other areas of the xerographic machine require paper conveyors and components that are free of static paper to prevent misfeed and paper jam. Decrease surface resistivity as described above, works to allow proper xerographic loading and static dissipation. In the embodiment where the thiophene-filled material is used as the external layer of a xerographic component, it is desirable that the external material filled with thiophene be coated to a thickness of about .5μm to about 25μm with a preferred range being about 5μm up to approximately 5μm. It is further described that the optional intermediate layer to be coated to a thickness of about 0.001 inches (0.00254 cm) to about 0.120 inches (0.3048 cm) with a preferred range being from about 0.040 inches (0.1016 cm) to about 0.080 inches (0.2032 cm). ). An alternative modality is shown in the Figure , wherein the substrate 40 has on it an intermediate or adhesive layer 42 filled with thiophene 44. The outer layer 43 is placed on the intermediate or adhesive layer filled with thiophene. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the substrate can be as described for Figures 8 and 9, including the shape of the substrate and the materials included in the substrate. The outer layer of the embodiment of Figure 10 may comprise the materials described for the intermediate layer in the embodiments of Figures 8 and 9. In the embodiments described in Figure 10, it is preferred that the thickness of the outer layer be approximately O.lμm to about 250μm with a preferred range of about 1 to about 75μm. The xerographic components can be manufactured by known methods. The coatings may be applied, for example, by gravure printing, roller application, spray coating, dipping, brush application, powder coating, or the like.

All patents and applications referred to herein are specifically and fully incorporated herein by reference in their entirety in this specification. The following examples further define and describe embodiments of the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, all parts and percentages are by weight.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Preparation of the Polyimide Substrate. Coated with Silicone Filled with Thiophene • BAYTRON® P (thiophene filler) was mixed as a silicone emulsion 865A • a. several levels from about 0.5 to about 2 weight percent. A slight change in resistivity of about 6.88 x 1011 was observed up to about 1.59 x 10u ohms / sq when the coating was placed on the polyimide 300 PB. The thiophene material also precipitated to about 1.5 weight percent. The precipitate could be dispersed with highly shearing, vigorous mixing.

Example 2 Preparation of Polyester Substrate Coated with Fluoroelastomer Filled with Thiophene BAYTRON P (thiophene filler) was dispersed in an aqueous fluoroelastomer material (FLUORLAST from Lauren). The initial resistivity was measured at approximately 6.88 x 1011 and the resistivity reduced to approximately 9 x 10s after the layer was coated on a polyimide substrate 300 PB. Again the charge of the thiophene in the fluoroelastomer was from about 0.5 to about 2 weight percent. Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to specific and preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that different modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended that all those modifications and modalities that may occur to those skilled in the art are within the scope of the appended claims. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects to which it relates.

Claims (28)

1. CLAIMS 7 Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property. A xerographic component characterized in that it comprises: a) a substrate; and on it b) a coating comprising a polymer having a thiophene filler dispersed therein. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the thiophene filler is present in the coating in an amount from about 0.1 to about 25 weight percent total solids. 3. The xerographic component according to claim 2, characterized in that the thiophene filler is present in the coating in an amount of about 0.5 to about 15 weight percent total solids. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the polymer in the outer layer is selected from the group consisting of fluoropolymers, chloropolymers, silicone rubbers, polyimides, polyamides, polypropylenes, polyethylenes, polybutylenes, polyarylenes, acrylonitriles, polycarbonates , polysulfones, ethylene dienopropene monomer, nitrile rubber and mixtures thereof. The xerographic component according to claim 4, characterized in that the polymer is selected from the group consisting of fluoropolymers and silicone rubbers. The xerographic component according to claim 5, characterized in that the fluoropolymer is selected from the group consisting of a) copolymers of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene; b) terpolymers of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene; and c) tetrapolymers of vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and tetrafluoroethylene and a monomer that cures at the site. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the thiophene filler has the following formula I: wherein A is an optionally substituted C ?'-C4 alkylene radical. 8. The xerographic component according to claim 7, characterized in that the optionally substituted C? -C alkylene radical is selected from the group consisting of a methylene radical, methylene radical substituted by alkyl, 1,2-ethylene radical, radical 1,2 ethylene substituted by C 1 -C 12 alkyl, 1,2-ethylene radical substituted by phenyl, and a 1,2-cyclohexylene radical. 9. The xerographic component according to claim 8, characterized in that the thiophene filler is a polyethylene dioxythiophene. 10. The xerographic component according to claim 9, characterized in that the thiophene filler is 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiophene. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the xerographic component further comprises an intermediate layer placed between the substrate and the polymer coating filled with thiophene. 12. The xerographic component according to claim 11, characterized in that the intermediate layer comprises a polymer. The xerographic component according to claim 12, characterized in that the polymer in the outer layer is selected from the group consisting of fluoropolymers, chloropolymers, silicone rubbers, polyimides, polyamides, polypropylenes, polyethylenes, polybutylenes, polyarylenes, acrylonitriles, polycarbonates , polysulfones, ethylene dienopropene monomer, nitrile rubber and mixtures thereof. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the component further comprises an external coating on the polymer coating filled with thiophene. 15. The xerographic component according to claim 14, characterized in that the thiophene-filled coating is an adhesive. 16. The xerographic component according to claim 15, characterized in that the thiophene-filled coating further comprises polystyrene sulphonic acid. 17. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate is in the form of a band. 18. The xerographic component according to claim 17, characterized in that the xerographic component is capable of receiving a deviation. 19. The xerographic component according to claim 17, characterized in that the xerographic component is an intermediate interference band. 20. The xerographic component according to claim 17, characterized in that the xerographic component further comprises a heating element associated with the substrate. 21. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate comprises a polyimide. ^ 22. The xerographic component according to claim 1, characterized in that the substrate is in the form of a hollow cylinder. 23. The xerographic component according to claim 22, characterized in that the xerographic component is capable of receiving a deviation. 24. The xerographic component according to claim 22, characterized in that the xerographic component is an intermediate transfer roller. 25. The xerographic component according to claim 22, characterized in that the xerographic component further comprises a heating element associated with a hollow cylinder. 26. A xerographic component, characterized in that it comprises: a) a substrate comprising a polymer; and on it b) a coating comprising a thiophene filler dispersed therein. 27. A xerographic component according to claim 26, characterized in that the thiophene filler is 3-polyethylenedioxythiophene. 28. An image forming apparatus for forming images on a recording medium, characterized in that it comprises: a surface that retains charge to receive a latent electrostatic image thereon; a deflectable component capable of receiving an electrical deviation to load one of a xerographic component or a copying substrate surface; a developing component for applying organic pigment to the surface that retains charge to reveal the latent electrostatic image to form a revealed image on the surface that retains charge; a transfer component for transferring the revealed image of the surface retaining charge to a copying substrate; and a fuser component for melting the developed image to a surface of the copying substrate, wherein at least one of the deflectable component, the transfer component and the fuser component comprise: a) a substrate; and on it b) a coating comprising a thiophene filler dispersed therein. COATINGS OF XEROGRAPHIC COMPONENTS FILLED WITH POLYTLOPHENE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a xerographic component having a substrate and over it a coating with a thiophene filler dispersed therein or contained therein.