JP2005316206A - Developing roller and process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developing roller capable of forming an excellent image by preventing the peeling of a resin layer caused by drop shock at the time of physical distribution and toner filming from occurring between a developing blade and the developing roller, and a process cartridge equipped with the developing roller. <P>SOLUTION: The developing roller has at least one elastic layer on the outer peripheral surface of a core bar and at least one resin layer on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer. The elastic layer is composed of a conductive elastic body principally composed of silicone rubber, and the resin layer is formed by irradiating the elastic layer with excimer light (center wavelength is 172nm and half value width is ≤20nm) of integral light quantity 50 to 300mJ/cm<SP>2</SP>and applying coating liquid to it after 1×10<SP>-3</SP>to 1×10<SP>2</SP>hours and drying and hardening it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a developing roller for carrying a developer used in an electrophotographic apparatus, and a process cartridge including the developing roller.

  Using a non-magnetic one-component developer, the non-magnetic one-component developer is supported on the developer carrier and brought into contact with the image carrier, the developer is transferred from the developer carrier to the surface of the image carrier, There is a contact development method for developing an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier. This contact development method is easy to colorize without using a magnetic material as a developer.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of an image forming apparatus of a contact development type using a nonmagnetic one-component developer. The contact development method using a non-magnetic one-component developer is one of the electrophotographic development processes, and the developer (sometimes referred to as toner) 28 is circulated in the developing container 34 by a stirring roller. It has become. The supply roller 26 and the developing roller 25 are configured such that a shaft core body (sometimes referred to as a core metal) is a conductor, and the outer periphery thereof is coated with an insulator or a medium resistance substance. A bias voltage is applied to each of the supply roller 26 and the developing roller 25, and the toner 28 is carried and transported to the supply roller 26 by an electric force, and then charged by contact rotation between the supply roller 26 and the developing roller 25. By having a potential potential, the toner is conveyed from the supply roller 26 to the developing roller 25. The toner 28 held on the developing roller 25 is more markedly charged due to frictional contact between the developing roller 25 and the developing blade 27. Then, the charged toner on the developing roller 25 moves to a portion where the potential on the image carrier (sometimes referred to as a photosensitive drum) 21 is held, and the potential of the image carrier is grounded and the potential is not held. The toner does not move to the portion, and as a result, an image is obtained.

  As a developing roller used in such a contact development method, a conductive elastic layer is provided around a metal shaft core (core metal), and various resin solutions are applied to impart surface properties to the outside. Then, a roller-shaped one provided with a resin layer is used. When silicone rubber is used for the conductive elastic layer, it is difficult to directly and firmly bond the conductive elastic layer and the resin layer, and the silicone rubber surface is modified in advance and the resin solution is applied. Irradiation with excimer light is disclosed as a modification method (for example, Patent Document 1).

In the process of assembling a process cartridge used in an electrophotographic apparatus, a small amount of toner is usually applied between a developing roller and a developing blade for the purpose of lubrication. Thus, when the process cartridge reaches the user and is actually used, the toner can be in a good frictional contact from the initial state, and is in an appropriate charged state. However, before the process cartridge is delivered to the user, it is affected by vibrations and drops when passing through a physical distribution route under various environmental conditions, and the resin layer is peeled off or between the developing roller and the developing blade. In addition, a small amount of toner applied for the purpose of lubrication causes local filming in the axial direction of the developing roller between the developing roller and the developing blade, which causes a streak image.
JP 2003-202748 A

  The object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of toner filming between the developing roller and the developing blade in the developing roller in the contact developing device using a non-magnetic one-component developer due to vibration during distribution or impact of dropping. Another object of the present invention is to provide a developing roller for forming a good image and a process cartridge having the developing roller.

The developing roller of the present invention that achieves the above object is a developing roller having at least one elastic layer on the outer peripheral surface of a core metal and at least one resin layer on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer, the elastic layer There is an elastic layer made of a conductive elastic material mainly composed of silicone rubber, the resin layer is integrated excimer light (center wavelength 172 nm, half-width 20nm or less) to the elastic layer amount 50 to 300 mJ / cm ² in irradiated, it is characterized in that which was formed by applying and drying and curing the coating solution after 1 × 10 ^-3 ~1 × 10 ² hours.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the elastic layer has a thickness of 0.5 to 6.0 mm.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the resin layer is preferably a resin layer mainly composed of a urethane resin.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the thickness of the resin layer is preferably 0.1 to 100 μm.

  In addition, a process cartridge according to the present invention that has achieved the above-described problems includes a developing roller that carries a developer in a state of being in contact with or pressed against a latent image carrier that bears a latent image, and the developing roller includes the latent roller. In a process cartridge that visualizes a latent image as a developer image by applying a developer to an image carrier, the developing roller is the developing roller of the present invention.

An elastic layer made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of at least one silicone rubber on the outer peripheral surface of the core metal of the present invention, and an excimer light (center wavelength 172 nm, half-value width 20 nm or less) on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer ) With a cumulative light quantity of 50 to 300 mJ / cm ² , a developing roller having at least one resin layer formed by applying a coating liquid after 1 × 10 ⁻³ to 1 × 10 ² hours and drying and curing; The process cartridge provided with the developing roller can prevent the peeling of the resin layer due to a drop impact during distribution and the occurrence of toner filming with the developing blade, and can form a good image.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  An example of the embodiment of the developing roller of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the developing roller 10 of the present invention includes a single elastic layer 12 on the outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical or hollow cylindrical conductive metal core 11, and an outer periphery of the elastic layer 12. One resin layer 13 is provided on the surface. 1 and 2, the developing roller having one elastic layer 12 and one resin layer 13 is shown. However, the developing roller of the present invention has the elastic layer 12 or the resin layer 13 having two or more layers. It may be.

  The cored bar 11 functions as an electrode and a supporting member of the developing roller. For example, a metal or alloy such as aluminum, copper alloy, stainless steel, etc., conductive metal such as iron plated with chromium, nickel, or synthetic resin. Constructed of sex material. The outer diameter of the cored bar 11 is usually in the range of 4 to 10 mm.

  The elastic layer 12 has an appropriate hardness and electric resistance so that the developing roller can be pressed against the surface of the photosensitive drum with an appropriate nip width or nip pressure to uniformly supply toner to the surface of the photosensitive drum. The elastic layer 12 is formed using a rubber material. The elastic layer 12 in the present invention is an elastic layer made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber, and is formed using silicone rubber as a rubber material.

  Examples of the silicone rubber include polydimethylsiloxane, polymethyltrifluoropropylsiloxane, polymethylvinylsiloxane, polytrifluoropropylvinylsiloxane, polymethylphenylsiloxane, polyphenylvinylsiloxane, and copolymers of these polysiloxanes. The average degree of polymerization of these silicone rubbers is preferably in the range of 3000 to 15000. Among them, it is important that the elastic layer 12 has a moderately low altitude and sufficient deformation recovery force. As the elastic layer 12 for that purpose, silicone rubber, particularly shape stability is high, and the reaction side during the curing reaction is important. For the reason that no product is generated, it is preferable to use an addition reaction cross-linkable liquid silicone rubber.

  The addition reaction crosslinking liquid silicone rubber is a composition containing, for example, an organopolysiloxane represented by Formula 1 and an organohydrogenpolysiloxane represented by Formula 2, and further containing a catalyst and other additives as appropriate.

(In Formula 1 and Formula 2, X, Y, and Z represent a positive integer.)
Organopolysiloxane is a base polymer of addition reaction crosslinking type liquid silicone rubber, and the molecular weight thereof is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 100,000 to 1,000,000, and the average molecular weight is preferably about 500,000. The alkenyl group of the organopolysiloxane is a site that reacts with the active hydrogen of the organohydrogenpolysiloxane to form a cross-linking point, and the type thereof is not particularly limited. A vinyl group and an allyl group are preferable, and a vinyl group is more preferable.

  Organohydrogenpolysiloxane functions as a crosslinking agent for addition reaction in the curing process, and the number of silicon atom-bonded hydrogen atoms in one molecule is 2 or more. Those having 3 or more silicon-bonded hydrogen atoms in one molecule are preferred. The molecular weight of the organohydrogenpolysiloxane is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include those having a molecular weight of 1000 to 10,000. In order to appropriately perform the curing reaction, a polymer having a relatively low molecular weight, that is, a polymer having a molecular weight of 1000 or more and 5000 or less is preferable.

The addition reaction crosslinking liquid silicone rubber can contain, for example, chloroplatinic acid hexahydrate as a crosslinking catalyst for the organohydrogenpolysiloxane. Moreover, the transition metal compound which shows a catalytic action in hydrosilylation reaction can also be used as a crosslinking catalyst. Specific examples thereof include Fe (CO) ₅ , Co (CO) ₈ , RuCl ₃ , IrCl ₃ , [(olefin) PtCl ₂ ] ₂ , vinyl group-containing polysiloxane-Pt complex, H ₂ PtCl ₆ · 6H ₂ O , L ₃ RhCl ₃ , L ₂ Ni (olefin), L ₄ Pd, L ₄ Pt, L ₂ NiCl ₂ (where L = PPh ₃ or PR ' ₃ , where Ph is a phenyl group, R' is an alkyl group Show). Of these, platinum, palladium, and rhodium-based transition metal compound catalysts are preferable.

  In the case of a platinum-based metal compound catalyst, the blending amount of the above catalyst is preferably 1 ppm by mass to 100 ppm by mass as platinum in the addition reaction crosslinking liquid silicone rubber (including various compounds), but is limited to this range. Without being done, it is appropriately determined depending on the target use time, curing time, and product shape.

  The rubber material contains a conductive agent as an essential component, and various additives such as a non-conductive filler and a crosslinking agent are appropriately blended.

  Conductive agents include various conductive metals or alloys such as carbon black, graphite, aluminum, copper, tin, stainless steel, tin oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, titanium oxide, tin oxide antimony monoxide solid solution, tin oxide monoxide Various conductive metal oxides such as indium solid solution and fine powders such as insulating substances coated with these conductive materials can be used. Among these, carbon black is preferably used because it can be obtained relatively easily and good chargeability can be obtained.

  As means for dispersing these conductive agents in the rubber material, a roll kneader, a Banbury mixer, a ball mill, a sand grinder, a paint shaker, or the like can be used as appropriate.

  Non-conductive fillers include diatomaceous earth, quartz powder, dry silica, wet silica, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, aluminosilicate, calcium carbonate and the like.

  Further, as a crosslinking agent, di-t-butyl peroxide, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di (t-butylperoxy) hexane, dicumyl peroxide, t-butylperoxybenzoate, P-chloro Examples thereof include benzoyl peroxide.

The volume resistivity value of the elastic layer 12 is preferably in the range of 10 ³ to 10 ¹⁰ Ω · cm when a DC voltage of 100 V is applied. For example, when carbon black is used as the conductive agent, 5 to 100 parts by mass is blended with respect to the rubber material.

  Moreover, the thickness of an elastic layer should just exist in the range of 0.5-6.0 mm, and it is preferable that it exists in the range of 1.0-5.0 mm. If the thickness of the elastic layer is 0.5 mm or more, a uniform nip can be easily secured. On the other hand, a thickness of 6.0 mm or less is preferable because the amount of rubber material used can be reduced and costs can be reduced.

  Such an elastic layer is formed by a known method, for example, a method in which a rubber material such as addition reaction cross-linkable liquid silicone rubber is injected into a mold and vulcanized and cured, a method in which vulcanized and cured after extrusion molding, or a vulcanization after injection molding. What is necessary is just to form by the method of hardening. The vulcanization and curing may be performed according to a known method, and the vulcanization and curing conditions may be appropriately determined according to the rubber material used.

  The resin component of the resin layer 13 is not particularly limited, but urethane resin, polyamide resin, and the like are particularly preferably used from the viewpoints of self-film reinforcing property, toner chargeability, and the like. Among these, it is particularly preferable to use a urethane resin from the viewpoint of obtaining good wear resistance and elasticity.

  Examples of the urethane resin include those obtained by reacting a urethane raw material containing a polyhydroxy compound and an isocyanate compound, for example, those obtained by a method in which a prepolymer is subjected to a crosslinking reaction, and polyols obtained by polyisocyanate by a one-shot method. What was obtained by the method of making it react with soot is mentioned.

  In this case, as a polyhydroxyl compound used when obtaining a urethane resin, a polyol used for production of a general flexible polyurethane foam or a urethane elastomer, for example, a polyether polyol having a polyhydroxyl group at a terminal, a polyester polyol, or a polyether In addition to polyester polyols, general polyols such as polyolefin polyols such as polybutadiene polyol and polyisoprene polyol, and so-called polymer polyols obtained by polymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers in polyols can be used. As the isocyanate compound, polyisocyanate used in the production of general flexible polyurethane foam and urethane elastomer, that is, tolylene diisocyanate (sometimes referred to as TDI), crude TDI, 4,4′-diphenylmethane. Diisocyanates (sometimes referred to as MDI), crude MDI, aliphatic polyisocyanates having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, alicyclic polyisocyanates having 4 to 15 carbon atoms, and mixtures and modified products of these polyisocyanates, such as partially polyols A prepolymer obtained by reacting with a polymer can be used. In particular, the mixing ratio of the polyisocyanate may be lowered for the purpose of reducing the hardness of the resin layer 13.

  The urethane resin may be prepared using a one-component or two-component urethane raw material containing a polyhydroxyl compound and a polyisocyanate, and an epoxy resin or a melamine resin may be used as a crosslinking agent as necessary. Also good.

  Polyamide resins include polyamide 6,6,6,6,10,6,12,11,12,12,12 and polyamides obtained from polycondensation between different types of polyamide monomers. Alcohol-soluble ones are preferred. For example, those obtained by adjusting the molecular weight of a polyamide terpolymer or quaternary copolymer, or those obtained by methoxymethylating polyamide 6 or polyamide 12 to make them soluble in alcohol or water.

  One or more of urethane resin, polyamide resin, urea resin, and other modified resins can be mixed and used, and it is suitable for the development system by appropriately selecting depending on the development system. The toner charge amount can be obtained.

  The resin layer 13 includes a resin component (including raw materials such as a monomer that reacts when forming the resin layer 13 to generate a resin component), a conductive agent, a non-conductive filler, a crosslinking agent, a catalyst, and a dispersion accelerator. A coating liquid obtained by appropriately blending various additives such as the above can be applied to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 12 and dried, and if desired, it can be heated and cured to form.

  As various additives such as a conductive agent, a non-conductive filler, a cross-linking agent, a catalyst, and a dispersion accelerator that can be contained in an elastic layer that can be blended in a coating liquid for forming the resin layer 13, The thing similar to what was mentioned as various additives which can be contained in the elastic layer 12 can be used.

  Carbon black is generally used as the conductive agent, and there is no particular limitation on the type thereof. Various known carbon blacks such as SAF, ISAF, HAF, MAF, FEF, GPF, SRF, channel black, and furnace black are known. Can be used. The blending amount of carbon black is not particularly limited because it varies depending on the type of carbon black to be used. Usually, it is preferably 5 to 85 parts by mass, more preferably 10 to 70 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the resin component. In the range of the part, it is appropriately set according to the conductivity and hardness required for the resin layer 13.

  When the blending amount of carbon black is 85 parts by mass or less, the conductivity and hardness of the developing roller become appropriate, and further, the uniformity of distribution in the resin layer is increased, so that the uniformity of conductivity is also improved. On the other hand, when the blending amount of carbon black is 5 parts by mass or more, a preferable level of conductivity can be ensured. Further, the added carbon black can be sufficiently percolated, and the conductivity can be stabilized.

  As a means for applying the resin layer 13 to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 12, a method of applying the coating liquid to the elastic layer 12 is effectively employed. The resin component concentration of this coating liquid is not particularly limited and may be appropriately adjusted according to the required layer thickness. However, the resin component concentration is 10 mass from the dispersibility and stability of various additives in the coating liquid. % Or more is preferable. The solvent used for preparing the coating liquid may be any solvent as long as it can dissolve the resin component. For example, lower alcohols such as methanol, ethanol and isopropanol, ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexane , Toluene, xylene and the like are preferably used.

  When the coating liquid is applied to the elastic layer 13 made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber, the surface of the coating liquid must have sufficient wettability with respect to the coating liquid. That is, if the wettability is poor, the interfacial adhesive force between the formed resin layer 13 and the elastic layer 12 is weak, and the resin layer 13 is peeled off, which is practically useless. Therefore, surface treatment is performed for the purpose of improving the wettability of the elastic layer 13. In particular, when alcohol or ketone is used as the solvent, it is preferable to make the elastic layer 13 hydrophilic and increase its adhesive strength. There are various methods for making the surface of the elastic layer 13 made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber hydrophilic. In the present invention, excimer light (center wavelength is 172 nm, half-value width 20 nm or less) is used as the elastic layer. Use the irradiation method. This is because an excimer lamp that emits excimer light has advantages such as low cost, maintainability, long life, low energy, and a small device. Irradiating excimer light breaks the molecular bonds on the surface of the conductive elastic layer mainly composed of silicone rubber, and hydrophilizes the surface by bonding hydrophilic groups such as carboxyl groups and hydroxyl groups to the side chains. can do.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an excimer light irradiation apparatus. The inside of the container that stores the excimer lamp is replaced with nitrogen that is difficult to absorb excimer light, and the excimer light is emitted from the synthetic quartz window 49. The excimer lamp is cooled by cooling water. Excimer light is preferably irradiated while rotating a roller (which may be referred to as a precursor roller) prepared by forming an elastic layer on the outer peripheral surface of the cored bar. This is because excimer light irradiation treatment can be performed uniformly and uniformly by irradiating while rotating. The rotational speed is not particularly limited as long as it is a speed at which the elastic layer is uniformly irradiated with excimer light, but it is usually preferably 10 to 50 rpm. Moreover, it is preferable to arrange | position the axial direction of a precursor roller in parallel with the longitudinal direction of an excimer lamp, and, thereby, excimer light irradiation processing can be performed uniformly. The distance between the excimer lamp and the precursor roller surface (sometimes referred to as the irradiation distance) is preferably 1 to 5 mm, and more preferably 2 to 3 mm. When the irradiation distance is 1 mm or more, it is easy to control in an apparatus, and when it is 5 mm or less, the attenuation of the excimer light in the atmosphere can be suppressed, thereby shortening the excimer light irradiation processing time.

In the present invention, the irradiation treatment with excimer light (center wavelength: 172 nm, half-value width: 20 nm or less) is performed in the range of 50 to 300 mJ / cm ² integrated light quantity. The integrated light amount is a product of the irradiation light intensity and the irradiation time, and is determined by measuring the irradiation light intensity and appropriately setting the irradiation time. The irradiation light intensity and the irradiation time are not particularly limited as long as the integrated light amount is within the above range, but usually the irradiation time is preferably 2 to 180 seconds, more preferably 10 to 60 seconds. preferable. The irradiation intensity is preferably a normal 2~6mW / cm ^2, and more preferably, 3~5mW / cm ^2.

When the integrated light quantity is 50 mJ / cm ² or more, the surface of the elastic layer is sufficiently hydrophilic to improve the wettability to the coating liquid, the adhesion between the elastic layer and the resin layer is increased, and vibration and drop impact during distribution This can solve the problem that the resin layer of the developing roller is peeled off. Further, by setting the integrated light quantity to 300 mJ / cm ² or less, high resistance of the elastic layer due to high molecularization and high cross-linking of the conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber by radicals generated on the surface of the elastic layer. Can be suppressed. As a result, local toner filming in the axial direction of the developing roller can be suppressed, and as a result, the occurrence of a streak image can be prevented.

Next, a coating liquid for forming a resin layer is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer of the precursor roller that has been irradiated with excimer light (center wavelength: 172 nm, half width: 20 nm or less). In the present invention, the time required to finish the irradiation process with excimer light and apply the coating liquid to the entire surface of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer (sometimes referred to as transition time) is 1 × 10 ^{−. 3} to 1 × 10 ² hours. If the transition time is 1 × 10 ⁻³ hours or less, the effect of hydrophilization is too great, and a resin layer with unevenness is formed on the surface, and thus an uneven image is generated. In addition, if the transition time is 1 × 10 ² hours or more, radicals on the surface of the elastic layer hydrophilized by the excimer light irradiation treatment are deactivated by moisture in the atmosphere, and the adhesive force between the elastic layer and the resin layer is reduced. Problems such as peeling of the layer are likely to occur.

That is, 1 × 10 ⁻³ to 1 × 10 ² hours from the end of application of the coating liquid to the surface on which the resin layer on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber is to be formed By ending the light irradiation treatment with excimer light before, the resin layer adheres sufficiently to the elastic layer, and the charge equal to the absolute value of the charge amount of the toner adhering to the surface of the developing roller is opposite to the opposite polarity. It can be easily moved from the metal core, and even during vibration or drop impact during physical distribution, the resin layer can be prevented from peeling off and toner filming with the developing blade can be prevented, and a good image can be obtained.

  As a method of applying the coating liquid to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer, after preparing the coating liquid, a dipping method, a spray method, a roll coater method, or the like can be used. For example, in the method by dipping, after the precursor roller is subjected to excimer light irradiation treatment, it is usually immersed in the coating solution at room temperature for 5 seconds to 3 minutes, preferably 10 seconds to 30 seconds, and then pulled up. A resin layer can be formed by drying. In addition, when employ | adopting the spray method, the resin component density | concentration of a coating liquid can be set higher than a dipping method, For example, what adjusted to the density | concentration of 30 mass% or more can also be used. In any case, an optimal resin concentration, coating method, and coating conditions may be set so that a desired layer thickness can be obtained. In addition, the layer thickness of the resin layer 13 is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected, but is preferably 0.1 to 100 μm, more preferably 1 to 30 μm. When the thickness of the resin layer is 0.1 μm or more, sufficient wear resistance is obtained, and when it is 100 μm or less, the influence on the deformability is small and uniform conductivity is obtained.

  In the present invention, as described above, an excimer light irradiation treatment is performed on an elastic layer made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber, and a urethane resin is used as the resin material of the resin layer on the outer peripheral surface. A great effect can be obtained by providing the resin layer.

  Next, an example of the process cartridge of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus using the process cartridge of the present invention.

  The process cartridge of the present invention includes a developing roller that carries a developer in a state of being in contact with or pressed against a photosensitive drum as a latent image carrier that carries a latent image, and the developing roller is mounted on the photosensitive drum. Is a process cartridge that visualizes a latent image as a developer image by applying a toner as a photosensitive image 21, a charging device 22, a developing roller 25, a developing blade 27, a developing container 34, and a cleaning blade as a latent image carrier. 30, and the developing roller of the present invention is used as the developing roller 25. The process cartridge of the present invention is an exposure means for writing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 by the photosensitive drum 21 rotating in the direction of arrow A, uniformly charged by the charging device 22 for charging the photosensitive drum 21. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the laser beam 23. The electrostatic latent image is provided in close proximity to the photosensitive drum 21 and applied with toner 28 as a developer by a developing device 24 held in a process cartridge of the present invention that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. Developed and visualized as a toner image.

  Development is so-called reversal development in which a toner image is formed on the exposed portion. The visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to a paper 33 as a recording medium by a transfer roller 29. The paper 33 to which the toner image has been transferred is subjected to a fixing process by the fixing device 32, discharged outside the device, and the printing operation ends.

  On the other hand, the untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 without being transferred is scraped off by the cleaning blade 30 and stored in the waste toner container 31, and the cleaned photosensitive drum 21 repeats the above-described operation.

  The developing device 24 includes a developing container 34 that contains a non-magnetic toner 28 as a one-component developer, and a developer carrying member that is positioned in an opening extending in the longitudinal direction in the developing container 34 and is opposed to the photosensitive drum 21. And the developing roller 25 of the present invention as described above, and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed and visualized.

  The developing roller 25 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 with a contact width. In the developing device 24, the supply roller 26 is in contact with the contact portion of the developing blade 27 with the surface of the developing roller 25 in the developing container 34 on the upstream side in the rotational direction of the developing roller 25 and is rotatably supported. Has been.

  As the structure of the supply roller 26, a foamed skeleton-like sponge structure or a fur brush structure in which fibers such as rayon or nylon are planted on the core metal, the toner 28 is supplied to the developing roller 25 and the undeveloped toner is stripped off. It is preferable from the point. In the present embodiment, a supply roller 26 having a diameter of 14 mm provided with a polyurethane foam on a metal core is provided.

  As the contact width of the supply roller 26 with respect to the developing roller 25, 1 to 8 mm is effective, and it is preferable to have a relative speed at the contact portion with respect to the developing roller 25. In this embodiment, The contact width is set to 2 mm, and is driven to rotate at a predetermined timing by a driving means (not shown).

  The present invention will be specifically described below based on examples.

Example 1 (Manufacture of developing roller)
As the core 11, a SUS 8 core of φ8 was subjected to nickel plating, and an adhesive was applied and baked. The core metal 11 was placed in a mold, and a liquid silicone rubber material (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone, trade name: DY35-118A / B) was injected into a cavity formed in the mold. Subsequently, the mold is heated at 150 ° C. for 4 hours to cure and cure the silicone rubber material, and then cooled and demolded. The outer peripheral surface of the core metal 11 is made of a conductive elastic body mainly composed of silicone rubber. A roller (precursor roller) on which an elastic layer was formed was obtained. The layer thickness of the elastic layer was 4.0 mm.

The above precursor roller was rotated at 30 rpm using an excimer light reformer (made by Harrison Toshiba Lighting & Technology Co., Ltd.) under the conditions of room temperature, air, irradiation light intensity of 4.2 mW / cm ² and irradiation time of 12 seconds. Excimer light was irradiated so that the integrated light amount was 50 mJ / cm ² . The center wavelength of excimer light was 172 nm, and the half width was 10 nm. For the measurement of the integrated light quantity of excimer light, an ultraviolet integrated light quantity meter (main body type UIT-150, sensor part type VUV-S172, both manufactured by USHIO INC.) Was used. This ultraviolet integrated light meter has a sensitivity wavelength of 150 to 400 nm.

  Urethane paint (Nipporan N5033; trade name, manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Co., Ltd.) is diluted with methyl ethyl ketone so that the solid content concentration becomes 10%, and carbon black (# 7360SB; trade name, manufactured by Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd., average particle diameter of 28 nm is used as a conductive agent. ) Is added to 50 parts by mass with respect to the solid content, and 6 parts by mass of urethane particles (Art Pearl C400; trade name, manufactured by Negami Kogyo Co., Ltd.) as a non-conductive filler are added to the solid content, and then cured to a sufficiently dispersed state. An agent (Coronate L; trade name, manufactured by Nippon Polyurethane Co., Ltd.) was added in an amount of 10 parts by mass to the urethane paint, and further stirred to adjust the paint.

In this coating solution, the precursor roller subjected to the excimer light irradiation treatment was dipped and applied in a transition time of 1 × 10 ⁻³ hours, and this was pulled up, dried, and heated at 100 ° C. for 4 hours to form a resin. The layer 13 was formed on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 12 to obtain a developing roller E1. The layer thickness of the resin layer 13 was 15 μm.

Example 2 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller E2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the transition time was 1 × 10 ² hours.

Example 3 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller E3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the integrated light amount was 300 mJ / cm ² .

Example 4 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller E4 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the integrated light amount was 300 mJ / cm ² .

Comparative Example 1 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C1 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the excimer light irradiation treatment was not performed.

Comparative Example 2 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C2 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the integrated light amount was 40 mJ / cm ² .

Comparative Example 3 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C3 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the transition time was set to 0.5 × 10 ⁻³ hours.

Comparative Example 4 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C4 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the transition time was 1.2 × 10 ² hours.

Comparative Example 5 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C5 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the integrated light amount was 300 mJ / cm ² and the transition time was 0.5 × 10 ⁻³ hours.

Comparative Example 6 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C6 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the integrated light amount was 300 mJ / cm ² and the transition time was 1.2 × 10 ² hours.

Comparative Example 7 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C7 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the integrated light amount was 310 mJ / cm ² .

Comparative Example 8 (Manufacture of developing roller)
A developing roller C8 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the integrated light amount was 310 mJ / cm ² .

Examples 5 to 8 and Comparative Examples 9 to 16 (process cartridge)
The developing roller incorporated in the process cartridge (EP-85 toner cartridge; trade name, manufactured by Canon Inc.) was removed, and the developing roller of the above example and comparative example was incorporated, and the following evaluation was performed. The obtained results are shown in Table 1.

"Development roller evaluation method"
The process cartridges of Examples 5 to 8 and Comparative Examples 9 to 16 were measured for vibration frequency under a sine wave with an acceleration of 9.8 m / s ² using a vibration tester (FM-2051; trade name, manufactured by Emic). While continuously changing in the range of 10 to 100 Hz with a period of 5 minutes, after vibrating for 1 hour each in the horizontal, vertical and vertical directions with an amplitude of 2 mm, the concrete is dropped from a predetermined height (drop height is 90 cm). Drop it on the surface. After that, it is left for 24 hours in an environment with a humidity of 60% RH at 23 ° C., and this is set in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (LASER SHOT LBP-2510; trade name, manufactured by Canon Inc.). A tone image was produced, and the obtained image was visually observed to evaluate the presence or absence of a streak image generated by toner filming with a developing blade caused by a drop impact. At the same time, the developing roller incorporated from the process cartridge was taken out, and the presence or absence of peeling of the resin layer was evaluated by visual observation.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a developing roller capable of forming a good image and a process cartridge including the developing roller.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure of the developing roller of one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the structure of the developing roller shown in FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus using a process cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the excimer light irradiation apparatus in this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Developing Roller 11 Shaft Core (Core)
12 Elastic layer 13 Resin layer 21 Image carrier (photosensitive drum)
22 Charging device 23 Laser beam 24 Developing device 25 Developing roller 26 Supply roller 27 Developing blade 28 Developer (toner)
29 Transfer roller 30 Cleaning blade 31 Waste toner container 32 Fixing device 33 Paper 34 Developer container 41 Cooling block 42 Cooling water inlet 43 Cooling water outlet 44 Nitrogen inlet 45 Nitrogen outlet 46 Power supply 47 Yamagata mirror 48 Excimer lamp 49 Synthetic quartz window

Claims (5)

A developing roller having at least one elastic layer on the outer peripheral surface of a core metal and at least one resin layer on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer, the elastic layer having conductive elasticity mainly composed of silicone rubber An elastic layer made of a body, and the resin layer irradiates the elastic layer with excimer light (center wavelength: 172 nm, half-value width: 20 nm or less) at an integrated light quantity of 50 to 300 mJ / cm ² , and 1 × 10 ⁻³ to 1 × 10 A developing roller formed by applying a coating solution after ² hours and drying and curing.   The developing roller according to claim 1, wherein the elastic layer has a thickness of 0.5 to 6.0 mm.   The developing roller according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer is a resin layer mainly composed of a urethane resin.   The developing roller according to claim 1, wherein the resin layer has a thickness of 0.1 to 100 μm.   A developing roller is provided that carries a developer in a state of being in contact with or pressed against the latent image carrier that bears the latent image, and the developing roller applies the developer to the latent image carrier, thereby forming the latent image. 5. A process cartridge that is visualized as a developer image, wherein the developing roller is the developing roller according to claim 1.

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