JPH08272190A - Charging device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To eliminate unevenness in the electrostatic charge by adjusting the nip width between a transcribing member and a photoreceptor. CONSTITUTION: A magnetic brush layer 101 is furnished around a magnet roller 102 so that a contact type charging member is formed. The gap 108 between a photoreceptor 104 and a magnet roller 102 is restricted by a spacer 103, and the brush layer 101 is contacted with the surface of the photoreceptor 104 so that a nip having a width 106 is formed. The thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer 101 is made adjustable in the axial direction (longitudinal direction) of the charging member by a plate-form restricting member 105. Thus the nip width 106 is made equal in the axial direction of the charging member and a uniform electrostatic charge of the photoreceptor 104 is carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a contact charging device and an image forming apparatus in which a charging member to which a voltage is applied is brought into contact with a surface to be charged of an image carrier to charge it.

[0002]

[Prior art]

1. 2. Related Art Image Forming Apparatus As an image forming apparatus, a so-called copying machine for copying a document has been well known, but in recent years, a computer,
The demand for printers used as output means such as word processors is growing rapidly. Since such printers are used not only for conventional office use but also for personal use, there are demands for further cost efficiency and convenience such as cost reduction and maintenance free.

Further, from the viewpoint of ecology, double-sided copying, resource saving by reducing paper consumption by utilizing recycled paper,
Energy saving by reduction of power consumption and improvement of working environment by reduction of ozone amount are demanded with the same importance as economic efficiency and convenience.

The corona charger, which has been the mainstream of the conventional charging method, has a metal wire of 50 to 100 μm and a thickness of 5 to 10 k.
By applying a high voltage of about V, the atmosphere is ionized and the opposite object (charged body) is charged. In the process, the wire itself also adsorbs dirt, and therefore periodical cleaning and replacement are required. In addition, unnecessary ozone is generated with the corona discharge.

Regarding energy saving, there is also a problem with the photoconductor heater. In recent years, the surface hardness of electrophotographic photoreceptors used in image forming apparatuses has been increasing in order to increase the number of sheets that can be printed. With repeated use, corona generation derived from ozone generated by the charger is generated. Due to the influence of the substance, the surface of the photoconductor becomes sensitive to humidity and easily absorbs moisture. This moisture causes a lateral flow of charges on the surface of the photoconductor, which causes deterioration of image quality such as so-called image deletion.

In order to prevent such image deletion, heating by a heater as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-34205 and a magnet roller as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 23856/1990 are used. A method of removing the corona product by rubbing the surface of the photoconductor with a brush formed of magnetic toner, a method of removing the corona product by rubbing the surface of the photoconductor with an elastic roller as described in JP-A-61-110080, and the like. Has been used.

The method of inspecting the surface of the photosensitive member is used for an amorphous silicon photosensitive member having an extremely high hardness, but this is one of the factors that make it difficult to reduce the size and cost of the device. Further, the constant heating by the heater causes an increase in power consumption as described above. The heater capacity is usually about 15 to 80 W, which does not necessarily give the impression of a large amount of power, but in most cases it is always energized even at night, and the amount of power consumed per day is that of the entire image forming apparatus. 5 to 1 of power consumption
It reaches 5%.

Also, in the external heater heating system in a form similar to that of the present invention, that is, in JP-A-59-111179 and JP-A-62-278577, the image density error due to the temperature change of the photoconductor is not detected. There is no disclosure about improvement of stability factors.

Further, it is preferable to remove the above-mentioned ozone which causes the image deletion, and conventionally, it has been decomposed by an ozone removal filter to be harmless and discharged. Especially for personal use, the amount of ozone discharged must be reduced as much as possible. Thus, from the economical aspect, there is a demand for a method of significantly reducing the amount of ozone generated during charging.

Under these circumstances, there is a demand for new charging devices and image forming apparatuses that produce no or very little ozone. 2. Charging Device Various charging devices have been proposed to solve the above problems.

The contact charging device as described in JP-A-63-208878 is a device for charging a charging member to which a voltage has been applied to a member to be charged so as to charge the surface to be charged to a predetermined potential. Compared with a corona charging device widely used as a charging device, firstly, the applied voltage required to obtain a predetermined potential on the surface to be charged can be lowered, and secondly, the charging process. Since there is no or extremely small amount of ozone generated in step 1, the need for an ozone removal filter is eliminated, thus simplifying the configuration of the exhaust system of the device, maintenance-free, and thirdly, in the charging process. The generated ozone and ozone products adhere to the surface of the image carrier, which is the surface to be charged, for example, the surface of the photoconductor, and the surface of the photoconductor becomes sensitive to humidity due to the influence of the adhered corona products and adsorbs moisture. Since it is possible to prevent image deletion due to low resistance, it is not necessary to dehumidify with a heater all day long, and it is possible to significantly reduce power consumption such as night energization. , And so on.

The contact charging device having the above-mentioned advantages is, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (copier, laser beam printer), an electrostatic recording type image forming apparatus, an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a dielectric material. As a means for charging the image bearing member such as the above and other charged members, it has been noticed and put into practical use as an alternative to the corona discharge device. Conventionally, as a contact charging device, a device in which a blade or a sheet-type fixed charging member is brought into contact with a member to be charged and a bias is applied to the member to perform charging is typical.

FIG. 16 shows an embodiment thereof. Reference numeral 801 denotes a drum-shaped photoconductor (hereinafter appropriately referred to as “photosensitive drum”), and in the figure, a drum-type electrophotographic image that is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction (arrow A direction) It is a photoconductor. Reference numeral 802 denotes a contact charging member, which includes the electrode 802-1 and the resistance layer 80 formed on the charged surface thereof.
2-2 and. The electrode 802-1 is usually made of a metal such as aluminum, an aluminum alloy, brass, copper, iron, or stainless, or an insulating material such as resin or ceramic, which is subjected to a conductive treatment, that is, coated with a metal or a conductive paint. Use the one that you used. The resistance layer 802-2 is
Generally used is a resin such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or an elastomer such as silicon rubber or urethane rubber in which a conductive filler such as titanium oxide, carbon powder or metal powder is dispersed. The resistance value of the resistance layer 802-2 is HIO.
0.25 to 1kV with MΩ tester made by KI (manufacturer)
At an applied voltage of 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹²
Has a resistance value of Ω · cm. Reference numeral 803 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member 802. The power source 803 superimposes the oscillating voltage V _ac having the peak-to-peak voltage V _pp that is at least twice the charging start voltage of the photosensitive drum 801 and the DC voltage V _dc. The superimposed voltage (V _ac + V _dc ) is the electrode 80 of the charging member 802.
2-2 is applied to the photosensitive drum 80 which is rotationally driven.
The outer peripheral surface of No. 1 is uniformly charged.

Further, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 801 by scanning the laser beam printer light 805 whose intensity is modulated according to the image signal.

Toner is attached to this latent image by a developing sleeve 806 coated with a developer, and after being visualized (developed) as a toner image, it is transferred onto a transfer material 807 via a transfer roller 808. . The transfer residual toner is removed from the photosensitive drum by the cleaning blade 809. On the other hand, a transfer material 807 having a toner image transferred on its surface
After the toner image is fixed by a fixing device (not shown), the toner image is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body as a final copy.

However, in the above-mentioned method, since the direct contact between the photosensitive drum 801 and the contact charging member 802 and the influence of friction are great, the contact charging member 802 is worn out for a long period of time, and it is necessary to replace it regularly. Amorphous silicon photoconductors, which have been widely used as image carriers in image forming apparatuses in recent years, have a semi-permanent life, and replacement of the contact charging member 802 is an obstacle to maintenance-free operation of the apparatus. There was a strong demand for improvement.

As a solution to the problem, in the progress of various improvements of the contact charging member, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-1335 has been proposed.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 69, etc., a new system of a mechanism has been proposed in which a magnetic brush-shaped contact charging member made of a magnetic material and magnetic powder (or particles) is brought into contact with an image carrier to apply an electric charge thereto.

17 (a) and 17 (b) show an embodiment thereof. 17A is a vertical cross-sectional view of the photosensitive drum 901 and the charging member 902 in a direction perpendicular to the axes thereof.
(B) shows a front view of the charging member 902. Reference numeral 901 denotes a photosensitive drum as an image bearing member, which is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member that is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed). A charging member 902 includes a multipolar magnetic body 902-2 and a magnetic brush layer 902-1 formed of magnetic powder on the charging surface thereof.

The multi-pole magnetic body 902-2 is usually made of a magnetic material such as a ferrite magnet and a rubber magnet, and is formed into a cylindrical so-called magnet roller.

For the magnetic brush layer 902-1, magnetic iron oxide (ferrite) powder, magnetite powder, known magnetic toner material, etc. are generally used.

It is desirable that the resistance value of the charging member 902 is appropriately selected depending on the environment in which it is used, high charging efficiency, pressure resistance of the surface layer of the photosensitive drum 901, and the like.

The photosensitive drum 901 and the "multipolar magnetic material 902-"
"2" stably controls the contact width of the magnetic brush layer 902-1 (hereinafter referred to as "nip width"), and thus needs to be stably set to a constant distance. This distance is 50-200
The range of 0 μm is preferable, and more preferably 100 to 10
It is 00 μm.

Reference numeral 903 denotes a voltage applying power source for the charging member 902. The power source 903 applies a DC voltage V _dc to the multipolar magnetic material 902-2 of the charging member 902 and the magnetic brush layer 90.
2-1 is applied to the photosensitive drum 9 and is rotationally driven.
The outer peripheral surface of 01 is uniformly charged.

Further, a laser beam printer light 905 whose intensity is modulated according to an image signal is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 901 to form an electrostatic latent image. This latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developing sleeve 906 coated with a developer, and then transferred onto a transfer material 907 by a transfer roller 908.
The transfer residual toner transferred via the cleaning blade 909 is removed from the photosensitive drum 901 by the cleaning blade 909. On the other hand, the transfer material 907 on which the toner image is transferred on the surface
After the toner image is fixed by a fixing device (not shown), is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body.

By such a system, the contact property and the friction property between the image carrier (photosensitive drum) 901 and the contact charging member 902 are improved, and the mechanical wear and the like are remarkably improved against the deterioration of durability. You can 3. Photoreceptor [Organic Photoconductive Material (OPC)] In recent years, various organic photoconductive materials have been developed as photoconductive materials for electrophotographic photosensitive materials.
In particular, a function-separated type photoreceptor having a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer laminated has already been put to practical use and mounted on a copying machine or a laser beam printer.

However, one of the major drawbacks of these photoconductors has been their low durability. The durability is roughly divided into sensitivity, residual potential, charging ability, durability of electrophotographic physical surface such as image blur, and mechanical durability such as abrasion and scratch on the surface of photoreceptor due to rubbing,
Both are major factors that determine the life of the photoconductor.

Of these, the durability of the electrophotographic physical properties, particularly the blurring of the image, ozone generated from a corona charger,
It is known that this is caused by the deterioration of the charge transport substance contained in the surface layer of the photoconductor due to the active substance such as NOx.

It is known that the mechanical durability is caused by a physical contact of a transfer material such as paper, a cleaning member such as a blade or a roller, or toner with the photosensitive layer and sliding. ing.

In order to improve the durability of the physical properties of electrophotography, it is important to use a charge transport substance that is not easily deteriorated by active substances such as ozone and NOx, and it is necessary to select a charge transport substance having a high oxidation potential. Are known. Also,
In order to increase mechanical durability, in order to withstand rubbing by the transfer material and cleaning member, increase the lubricity of the surface,
It is important to reduce the frictional force and improve the releasability of the surface in order to prevent toner filming fusion, etc., such as fluorine resin powder, fluorinated graphite, polyolefin resin powder, etc. It is known to incorporate the above lubricant into the surface layer. However, when the wear becomes extremely small, the hygroscopic substances generated by the active substances such as ozone and NOx are not removed, and are deposited on the surface of the photoconductor without being removed. As a result, the surface resistance is lowered and the surface charges are laterally transferred. There is a problem that it moves and causes so-called image deletion. [Amorphous Silicon-Based Photoreceptor (a-Si)] In electrophotography, as a photoconductive material for forming a photosensitive layer of a photoreceptor, it has a high sensitivity and an SN ratio [photocurrent (I _p ) / dark current (I _d ). ], Having an absorption spectrum adapted to the spectral characteristics of the electromagnetic wave to be irradiated, having a fast photoresponsiveness and having a desired dark resistance value, being harmless to the human body during use, and the like. Required. Particularly, in the case of a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus incorporated in an image forming apparatus used in an office as an office machine, the pollution-free property at the time of use is an important point.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (hereinafter referred to as "a-Si:" is used as a photoconductive material exhibiting excellent properties in this respect.
"H"), for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-35059
The publication describes application as a photoconductor for an image forming apparatus.

In such a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus, a conductive support is generally heated to 50 to 400 ° C., and a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, a heat treatment are applied to the support. CVD method, photo CVD method, plasma CV
A photoconductive layer made of a-Si is formed by a film forming method such as D method. Among them, the plasma CVD method, that is, the method of decomposing a source gas by direct current or high frequency or micro method glow discharge to form an a-Si deposited film on a support has been put into practical use as a suitable one.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 54-83746, an image formation comprising a conductive support and an a-Si (hereinafter referred to as "a-Si: X") photoconductive layer containing a halogen atom as a constituent element. A photoconductor for a device has been proposed. In this publication, 1 to 40 halogen atoms are added to a-Si.
According to the document, it is said that the heat resistance is high and good electrical and optical characteristics can be obtained as a photoconductive layer of a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus by containing at%.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-11556,
Use environment characteristics such as dark resistance value, photosensitivity, photoresponsiveness, and other electrical, optical, and photoconductive characteristics, and humidity resistance of a photoconductive member having a photoconductive layer formed of an a-Si deposited film, Furthermore, in order to improve stability over time, a surface barrier made of a non-photoconductive amorphous material containing silicon atoms and carbon atoms is formed on the photoconductive layer made of an amorphous material with silicon atoms as a base material. Techniques for providing layers are described.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-67951 describes a technique relating to a photoconductor in which a translucent insulating overcoat layer containing amorphous silicon, carbon, oxygen and fluorine is laminated. Sho 62-1681
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-61 discloses a technique of using, as the surface layer, an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, carbon atoms, and 41 to 70 atomic% hydrogen atoms as constituent elements.

Furthermore, in JP-A-51-158650, hydrogen containing 10 to 40 atomic%, 0.2 absorption coefficient ratio of the absorption peak of 2100 cm ^-1 and 2000 cm ^-1 in the infrared absorption spectrum It is described that by using a-Si: H of 1.7 in the photoconductive layer, a photosensitive member for an image forming apparatus having high sensitivity and high resistance can be obtained.

On the other hand, in JP-A-60-95551, in order to improve the image quality of an amorphous silicon photoconductor, charging, exposure, development and transfer are performed while maintaining the temperature near the photoconductor surface at 30 to 40 ° C. By performing the image forming process as described above, there is disclosed a technique for preventing a decrease in surface resistance due to the adsorption of moisture on the surface of the photoconductor and a resulting image deletion.

These techniques have improved the electrical, optical and photoconductive characteristics of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus and the use environment characteristics, and accordingly have improved the image quality. 4. Environmentally friendly heater To prevent and remove the high-humidity image flow on the photoreceptor described above,
It is well known to provide a heat source on the inner surface of the photoreceptor, and the most common one is to dispose a planar or rod-shaped electric heater on the inner surface of the cylindrical photoreceptor.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-34205 discloses a heating means by a heater in order to prevent image deletion. However, constant heating by the heater causes an increase in power consumption as described above.

[0039]

By the way, the following points are raised as problems when the charging device using the voltage-applying magnetic particles as a brush is used as the charging means of the image carrier. .

When uneven charging occurs in the longitudinal direction due to the mechanical accuracy of the charging device or the like, a corona charger using a charging wire can correct the uneven charging by adjusting the position of the charging wire. However, the voltage cannot be corrected by the charging device using the magnetic particles of the voltage application type as the brush as described above.

In particular, an amorphous silicon photoconductor in which a raw material gas is decomposed in a gas phase to form a film (detailed manufacturing method will be described later).
In the image forming apparatus using the photoconductor in which the unevenness is apt to occur in principle, it is a problem that the uneven charging cannot be corrected by the charger.

Further, even if the problem of image deletion as described above is solved by adopting a charging device which does not generate ozone or has a very small amount of ozone, the temperature dependence of the photoconductor characteristics is large, so Since the temperature control of the photosensitive member by the heater as described in Japanese Patent No. 34205 cannot be stopped, the conductive support and the non-single-crystal material containing a hydrogen atom and / or a halogen atom with a silicon atom as a base material are used. A photoconductor comprising a photoconductive layer exhibiting a photoconductive property and a photoreceptive layer having a surface layer having a function of retaining electric charges, wherein the photoconductive layer contains 10 to 30 atomic% of hydrogen. , At least in the light incident portion, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV, and the localized state density is 1 × 0 ^{14 ~1} × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3, by electrical resistance of the surface layer is a photosensitive member is ^{1 × 10 10 ~5 × 10 15} Ω · cm, the temperature dependence of the characteristics are greatly improved However, it is possible to stop the temperature control of the photoconductor, but it is more difficult to reduce the unevenness in the manufacturing process of such a photoconductor than the conventional one, and it is impossible to correct the nonuniformity of charge by the charger. It is a fatal problem.

Therefore, in designing the image forming apparatus or the electrophotographic image forming method, the electrophotographic physical properties of the photoconductor for the image forming apparatus are comprehensively considered so as to solve the above problems. It is necessary to further improve the charging device and the image forming apparatus.

Therefore, it is another object of the present invention to provide a charging device and an image forming apparatus which solve the above problems.

[0045]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and a voltage is applied to a charging member brought into contact with a surface to be charged of a member to be charged, whereby the surface to be charged is charged. In a charging device for charging, a charging member having a cylindrical multi-pole magnetic body having a plurality of magnetic poles in the circumferential direction and magnetic powder carried on the surface of the multi-pole magnetic body; The present invention is characterized by including a spacer that regulates a gap between the multipolar magnetic body and an adjusting mechanism that adjusts an area of a strip-shaped nip formed by contacting the surface to be charged with the magnetic powder.

In this case, the gap between the magnetic poles adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the multi-pole magnetic body may be set smaller than the circumferential nip width in the nip.

Further, the adjusting mechanism can regulate the layer thickness of the magnetic powder carried on the multipolar magnetic body.

As this adjusting mechanism, it is possible to have a plate-like member which comes into contact with the magnetic powder on the multipolar magnetic body to regulate the layer thickness.

Further, the adjusting mechanism may be a mechanism for adjusting the gap between the surface to be charged and the multipolar magnetic body.

At this time, the charged body may be formed in a cylindrical shape, and the adjusting mechanism may adjust the gap at a rotation cycle of the charged body.

Next, the image forming apparatus comprises an object to be charged having a surface to be charged, the charging device described in any one of the above, and an exposing means for exposing the surface to be charged to form an electrostatic latent image. It is characterized in that it is provided with a developing means for forming a toner image by attaching a developer to the electrostatic latent image and a transfer means for transferring the toner image on the surface to be charged onto a transfer material.

The charged body of the image forming apparatus comprises a conductive support, a photoconductive layer containing a non-single-crystal material containing silicon atoms as a base material and at least one of hydrogen atoms and halogen atoms, and a charge. A photoreceptive layer having a surface layer having a holding function, wherein the photoconductive layer is 10 to 3
Characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV, at least in the portion where light is incident, containing 0 atomic% hydrogen.
The localized state density is 1 × 10 ¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ⁻³ , and the electric resistance value of the surface layer is 1 × 10 ^{10 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm.
It is good to be.

[0053]

According to the above structure, firstly, by making it possible to adjust the contact area between the charging member and the body to be charged, it becomes possible to adjust the uneven charging in the longitudinal direction. Specifically, it is achieved by providing a mechanism for adjusting the thickness of the magnetic powder in the direction from the charging member to the charged body or a mechanism for adjusting the gap between the charging member and the charged body. it can.

Secondly, by using the cylindrical charged member and providing a mechanism for adjusting the gap with the rotation cycle of the charged member, it is possible to adjust the charging unevenness in the circumferential direction of the charged member. become.

[0055]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Example 1 [Charging Member] The essential points of the present invention will be described. 1 to 9 respectively show an outline of the charging member and the body to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a contact type charging member, a magnetic brush layer made of the above-mentioned charging carrier, and 102 is a multipolar magnetic material of the contact charging member, which constitutes the contact charging member. 103 is a spacer that regulates the gap 108 (see FIG. 2) between the contact charging member and the photoconductor,
Reference numeral 104 denotes a member to be charged such as a photoconductor, 105 denotes a plate-like member that regulates the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer, and 106 (see FIG.
(See) is the nip width.

As the multi-pole magnetic body 102 of the contact charging member, a metal such as a ferrite magnet or a magnetic body capable of forming a multi-pole such as a plastic magnet is usually used, and its magnetic flux density is the process speed to be used and the applied voltage. The magnetic field line density at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102, which varies depending on many factors such as the electric field due to the potential difference between the voltage and the non-charged portion, the permittivity of the charged body, and the surface property. It is preferably 500 G (gauss) or more, more preferably 1000 G or more.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be controlled by stably controlling the nip. There are various nip control means, but FIGS.
Or change the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer 101,
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the gap 1 between the charging member and the body to be charged is shown.
It can be realized by changing 08. The gap 108 between the charging member and the body to be charged is 50 to 2000 μm.
The range of m is preferable, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

The magnetic brush layer 101 made of the above-mentioned charging carrier of the contact charging member generally uses magnetic powder such as ferrite or magnetite, or a well-known magnetic toner carrier. The particle size of the magnetic powder is generally 1 to 100 μm
Those having a thickness of 50 μm or less are preferably used. Further, in order to improve fluidity, a charge carrier having the above particle size may be mixed and used.

In addition, minute defects on the surface of the member to be charged or
If there is a partial dielectric breakdown of the charged body due to the leak, a situation occurs in which the current flows partially in the axial direction of the charged body. In such a situation, if the resistance of the brush layer 101 is too low, the entire axial region of the charging member cannot be sufficiently charged. On the other hand, if the resistance of the brush layer 101 is too high, there is a limitation such as deterioration of charging efficiency. Therefore, it is 0.2 with an MΩ tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer).
1 × 10 when measured at an applied voltage of 5 to 1 kV
It preferably has a resistance of ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm, more preferably 1 × 10 ¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁹ Ω · cm.

The member 104 to be charged such as a photoconductor may be the same as the conventional one, but if necessary, a new photoconductor described later is used.

In the present invention, the nip of the contact charging member using the magnetic brush as described above is rotated in the longitudinal direction and / or (hereinafter “and / or” is used to mean “both or either”). With the configuration that can be adjusted in the direction, the contact type charging system that can reduce the uneven charging of the photoconductor and can widely respond to the setting change of the image forming apparatus such as the process speed and the charging setting of the image holding member can be provided. It has become possible. [Photoreceptor] As one means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present applicants have used a photoreceptor having small temperature dependence and excellent surface durability, and have achieved extremely suitable image stabilization for a long period of time. I found that. [Organic Photoconductor (OPC)] An OPC photoreceptor, which is one mode of a suitable photoreceptor used in the present invention, will be described below.
FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the layer configuration of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

OPC for image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
In the photoconductor 1100, a photosensitive layer (photoconductive layer) 1102 is provided on a support 1101 for the photoconductor.
The photosensitive layer 1102 includes the charge generation layer 1106 and the charge transport layer 11.
07, if necessary, a protective layer or surface layer 11
04, and an intermediate layer provided between the support 1101 and the charge generation layer 1106.

The OPC photosensitive member used in the present invention, that is, the surface layer, the photoconductive layer, the intermediate layer provided if necessary,
In particular, the surface layer is required to efficiently receive charge injection from the contact charging member and effectively retain this charge. The present applicants disperse charge-retaining particles such as SnO _{2 in} a mixed material of a high melting point polyester resin and a cured resin in a material having a high melting point of a mixture of a polyester resin and a cured resin, especially in a surface layer. It was found that the materials thus made act on the characteristics of the respective resin components in a synergistic manner and satisfy these conditions.

The resin components used for forming the surface layer, photoconductive layer, charge transport layer and charge generation layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention will be described.

The polyester is a binding polymer of an acid component and an alcohol component, and is a polymer obtained by condensation of dicarboxylic acid and glycol or condensation of a compound having a hydroxy group and a carboxy group of hydroxybenzoic acid.

Aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid and naphthalenedicarboxylic acid as acid components,
Aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as succinic acid, adipic acid, and sebacic acid, alicyclic dicarboxylic acids such as hexahydroterephthalic acid, and oxycarboxylic acids such as hydroxyethoxybenzoic acid can be used.

As the glycol component, ethylene glycol, trimethylene glycol, tetramethylene glycol, hexamethylene glycol, cyclohexanedimethylol, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol or the like can be used.

Incidentally, polyfunctional compounds such as pentaerythritol, lolimytrol propane, pyromellitic acid and their ester-forming derivatives may be copolymerized within the range where the above polyester resin is substantially linear.

As the polyester resin used in the present invention, a high melting point polyester resin is used.

The high melting point polyester resin has an intrinsic viscosity of 0.4 measured at 36 ° C. in orthochlorophenol.
dl / g or more, preferably 0.5 dl / g or more, and more preferably 0.65 dl / g or more are used.

Preferred high melting point polyester resins include polyalkylene terephthalate resins. The polyalkylene terephthalate resin is mainly composed of terephthalic acid as an acid component and alkylene glycol as a glycol component.

Specific examples thereof include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mainly composed of a terephthalic acid component and an ethylene glycol component, and mainly composed of a terephthalic acid component and a 1,4-tetramethylene glycol (1,4-butylene glycol) component. And polycyclohexyl dimethylene terephthalate (PCT) mainly composed of a terephthalic acid component and a cyclohexane dimethylol component. Examples of other preferable high molecular weight polyester resins include polyalkylene naphthalate resins. The polyalkylene naphthalate-based resin is mainly composed of a naphthalenedicarboxylic acid component as an acid component and an alkylene glycol component as a glycol component, and specific examples thereof include polyethylene naphthalene dicarboxylic acid component and an ethylene glycol component. Examples thereof include phthalate (PEN).

The high melting point polyester resin has a melting point of preferably 160 ° C. or higher, particularly preferably 200 ° C.
That is all.

In addition to the polyester resin, an acrylic resin may be used.

As the binder, bifunctional acrylic,
Hexafunctional acrylic, phosphazene, etc. are used.

It is considered that these resins have relatively high crystallinity and the entanglement between the cured resin polymer chain and the high melting point polymer chain becomes uniform and dense, so that a highly durable surface layer can be formed. . In the case of a low melting point polyester resin or the like, it is considered that the crystallinity is low, so that there are places where the degree of entanglement with the cured resin polymer chain is large and places where the degree of entanglement is small, and the durability is poor.

As the surface layer, a material in which a charge holding material such as SnO ₂ was dispersed was used. It is preferable to control the resistance value and the charging efficiency by using a dispersion amount appropriately selected according to usage conditions. [Amorphous Silicon Photoreceptor (a-Si)] An amorphous silicon photoreceptor, which is one mode of a suitable photoreceptor used in the present invention, will be described below.

Focusing on the behavior of carriers in the photoconductive layer of the amorphous silicon photoconductor, as a result of diligent studies on the relationship between the localized state distribution in the bandgap and the temperature dependence of the chargeability and the optical memory, the result shows that It has been found that the above-described object can be achieved by controlling the localized density of states in a specific energy range to be within a certain range at least in a portion where light is incident. That is, in a photoconductor having a photoconductive layer composed of a non-single-crystal material containing a silicon atom as a base and containing a hydrogen atom and / or a halogen atom, the photoconductor was designed and created to specify its layer structure. The photoconductor not only exhibits remarkably excellent characteristics in practical use, but also surpasses in all respects in comparison with conventional photoconductors, and particularly has excellent properties as a photoconductor for an image forming apparatus. I found that.

The photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention is composed of a conductive support and a photoconductive layer having a photoconductive layer made of a non-single-crystal material having silicon atoms as a matrix. It contains 30 atomic% of hydrogen and the characteristic energy of the exponential tail of the optical absorption spectrum is 50.
˜60 meV and the localized density of states is 1 × 10 ¹⁴
It is characterized in that it is ˜1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ⁻³ .

The photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention designed so as to have the above-mentioned constitution can solve all of the above-mentioned problems and is extremely excellent in electrical, optical and photoconductive properties. It shows characteristics, image quality, durability and environmental characteristics of use.

Generally, in the band gap of a-Si: H, a tail level due to structural disorder of Si-Si bond and a dangling bond of Si (dangling bond).
There are deep levels due to structural defects such as. It is known that these levels act as traps for electrons and holes, and as recombination centers, and cause deterioration of device characteristics.

Deep level spectroscopy, isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy, photothermal deflection spectroscopy, constant photocurrent method, etc. are generally used as a method for measuring the state of the localized level in the band gap. . Among them, the constant photocurrent method [Constant
Photocurrent Method: "CP
"M"] is useful as a method for simply measuring a subgap optical absorption spectrum based on the localized level of a-Si: H.

The present applicants have found that the characteristic energy of the exponential tail (hereinafter referred to as “Eu”) and the localized density of states (hereinafter referred to as “D”) obtained from the optical absorption spectrum measured by CPM.
As a result of investigating the correlation between the "OS") and the characteristics of the photoconductor under various conditions, it was found that Eu and DOS are closely related to the temperature characteristics of the a-Si photoconductor and the optical memory, and the present invention was completed. I arrived.

The reason why the charging ability is lowered when the photosensitive member is heated by a drum heater or the like is that thermally excited carriers (hereinafter referred to as “thermally excited carriers”) are attracted to the electric field at the time of charging to localize the band skirt. It travels on the surface while repeating trapping and emission to the deep localized level in the level and band gap,
It is possible to cancel the surface charge. At this time, for the thermally excited carriers reaching the surface while passing through the charger, there is almost no effect on the decrease in charging ability,
The thermally excited carriers trapped in the deep level reach the surface after passing through the charger and are observed as a temperature characteristic because they cancel the surface charge. In addition, the thermally excited carriers that are thermally excited after passing through the charger cancel the surface charge and cause a decrease in charging ability. Therefore, in order to improve the temperature characteristics, it is necessary to suppress the generation of thermally excited carriers in the operating temperature range of the photoconductor and improve the phototactic property of the thermally excited carriers.

Further, in the optical memory, photo carriers generated by blank exposure or image exposure are trapped in the localized level in the band gap, and the photo carriers remain in the photoconductive layer. That is, among the photocarriers generated in a certain copying process, the photocarriers remaining in the photoconductive layer are swept out by the electric field due to the surface charge at the time of the next charging or thereafter, and the potential of the portion irradiated with light is changed to another. Is lower than that of the image, and as a result, shading occurs on the image. Therefore, the runnability of the photocarriers must be improved so that the photocarriers travel in a single copying step without remaining in the photoconductive layer.

Therefore, by controlling Eu and DOS in a specific energy range as in the present invention, the generation of thermally excited carriers is suppressed, and the rate at which the thermally excited carriers and photocarriers are trapped in the localized level is controlled. Since it can be made small, the mobility of the above-mentioned carrier (hereinafter referred to as “charge carrier”) is significantly improved. as a result,
The temperature characteristics of the photoconductor in the operating temperature range are dramatically improved, and at the same time, the generation of optical memory can be suppressed, so that the stability of the photoconductor in the usage environment is improved and halftones are clearly expressed. Moreover, a high-quality image with high resolution can be stably obtained.

The photoconductive member of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 19 is a schematic structural view for explaining the layer structure of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

A photosensitive member 1100 for an image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 19A has a support 1101 for the photosensitive member, and
A photosensitive layer 1102 is provided. The photosensitive layer 1102 is a
-Si: H, X photoconductive layer 11 having photoconductivity
It is composed of 03.

FIG. 19B is a schematic structural view for explaining another layer structure of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the photoreceptor 1100 for an image forming apparatus shown in the figure, a photosensitive layer 1102 is provided on a support 1101 for the photoreceptor. The photosensitive layer 1102 is a-Si: H, X.
And a photoconductive layer 1103 having photoconductivity and an amorphous silicon-based surface layer 1104.

FIG. 19C is a schematic structural view for explaining another layer structure of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the photoreceptor 1100 for an image forming apparatus shown in the figure, a photosensitive layer 1102 is provided on a support 1101 for the photoreceptor. The photosensitive layer 1102 is composed of a photoconductive layer 1103 made of a-Si: H, X and having photoconductivity, an amorphous silicon-based surface layer 1104, and an amorphous silicon-based charge injection blocking layer 1105.

FIG. 19D is a schematic constitutional view for explaining still another layer constitution of the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention. A photoreceptor 1100 for an image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
On the support 1101 for the photoconductor,
102 is provided. The photosensitive layer 1102 is the photoconductive layer 1.
A charge generation layer 1106 and charge transport layer 1107 made of a-Si: H, X, which constitutes 103, and an amorphous silicon-based S surface layer 1104. [Support] As the support used in the present invention,
It may be electrically conductive or electrically insulating. As the conductive support, Al, Cr, Mo, Au, In, Nb, T
Examples thereof include metals such as e, V, Ti, Pt, Pd, and Fe, and alloys thereof, such as stainless steel. Further, at least the surface of the electrically insulating support made of synthetic resin such as polyester, polyethylene, polycarbonate, cellulose acetate, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyamide, etc. on the side where the photosensitive layer is formed is formed. A conductively treated support can also be used.

Support 1101 used in the present invention
May have a cylindrical or plate-like endless belt shape with a smooth surface or an uneven surface, and its thickness is appropriately determined so that the photoreceptor 1100 for an image forming apparatus can be formed as desired. When flexibility as the photoreceptor 1100 for the forming apparatus is required, it can be made as thin as possible within a range in which the function of the support 1101 can be sufficiently exerted. However, the support 1101 is usually 10 μm or more in terms of manufacturing and handling, mechanical strength and the like.

In particular, when image recording is performed using coherent light such as laser light, the charge carrier is reduced in order to more effectively eliminate the image defect due to the so-called interference fringe pattern that appears in the visible image. Concavities and convexities may be provided on the surface of the support 1101 within a substantially nonexistent range. Support 110
The unevenness provided on the surface of No. 1 is disclosed in JP-A-60-16815.
6, gazette 60-178457 gazette, gazette 60-22.
It is created by a known method described in Japanese Patent No. 5854.

Further, as another method of more effectively eliminating the image defect due to the interference fringe pattern when the coherent light such as the laser light is used, the support 1101 can be provided within a range in which the charge carrier is not substantially reduced. You may provide the surface with the uneven | corrugated shape by several spherical trace dents. That is, the surface of the support 1101 has irregularities that are smaller than the resolving power required for the photoreceptor 1100 for an image forming apparatus, and these irregularities are due to a plurality of spherical dents. The unevenness due to the plurality of spherical trace depressions provided on the surface of the support 1101 is created by the known method described in JP-A-61-231561.

Further, as still another method of more effectively eliminating the image defect due to the interference fringe pattern when the coherent light such as the laser light is used, the light is irradiated inside the photosensitive layer 1102 or below the photosensitive layer 1102. A layer or region for preventing interference such as an absorption layer may be provided. [Photoconductive Layer] In the present invention, in order to effectively achieve the object, a light which is formed on the support 1101 and, if necessary, on an undercoat layer (not shown) and constitutes a part of the photosensitive layer 1102. The conductive layer 1103 is formed by the vacuum deposition film forming method.
Numerical conditions of film forming parameters are appropriately set and created so that desired characteristics can be obtained. Specifically, for example, glow discharge method (low-frequency CVD method, high-frequency CVD method, alternating-current discharge CVD method such as microwave CVD method, or direct-current discharge CVD method), sputtering method, vacuum deposition method, ion plating method, It can be formed by various thin film deposition methods such as a photo CVD method and a thermal CVD method. These thin film deposition methods are based on manufacturing conditions, load level under capital investment,
It is appropriately selected and adopted depending on factors such as manufacturing scale and desired characteristics of the image forming apparatus photoreceptor to be created.
The glow discharge method, particularly the high frequency glow discharge method using a power supply frequency in the RF band or the VHF band, is relatively easy to control the conditions for manufacturing a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus having desired characteristics. It is suitable.

To form the photoconductive layer 1103 by the glow discharge method, basically, a source gas for supplying Si, which can supply silicon atoms (Si), and a source gas for supplying H, which can supply hydrogen atoms (H). Of the raw material gas and / or the raw material gas for supplying X, which can supply the halogen atom (X), is introduced in a desired gas state into a reaction vessel whose inside can be decompressed, and a glow discharge is generated in the reaction vessel. A-S on the predetermined support 1101 which is set in advance at a predetermined position.
i: A layer composed of H and X may be formed.

In the present invention, it is necessary that the photoconductive layer 1103 contains hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms, which compensates for dangling bonds of silicon atoms and improves the layer quality, particularly This is because it is essential for improving photoconductivity and charge retention characteristics. Therefore, the content of hydrogen atoms or halogen atoms, or the amount of the sum of hydrogen atoms and halogen atoms is 10 to 30 atom%, more preferably 15 to 25 atom% with respect to the sum of silicon atoms and hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms. It is desirable that

Materials that can be used as the Si supply gas in the present invention include SiH ₄ , Si ₂ H ₆ , and Si _3.
Gas hydrides such as H ₈ and Si ₄ H ₁₀ or silicon hydrides (silanes) that can be gasified are mentioned as being effectively used, and further, they are easy to handle at the time of layer formation and have good Si supply efficiency. In this respect, SiH ₄ and Si ₂ H ₆ are preferable.

Then, hydrogen atoms are structurally introduced into the photoconductive layer 1103 to be formed so as to make it easier to control the introduction ratio of hydrogen atoms, and obtain the film characteristics for achieving the object of the present invention. Therefore, it is necessary to form a layer by mixing a desired amount of H ₂ and / or He or a silicon compound gas containing a hydrogen atom with these gases. Further, each gas may be mixed not only with one kind but also with plural kinds at a predetermined mixing ratio.

Further, as a raw material gas for supplying halogen atoms used in the present invention, a gas or gas such as a halogen gas, a halide, an interhalogen compound containing halogen, or a silane derivative substituted with halogen is effective. Preferred examples thereof include halogen compounds that can be converted. Further, a gaseous or gasifiable hydrogen silicon compound containing a halogen atom, which contains silicon atoms and a halogen atom as constituent elements, can also be cited as an effective one. Specific examples of the halogen compound preferably used in the present invention include fluorine gas (F ₂ ), Br
f, ClF, ClF ₃ , BrF ₃ , BrF ₅ , IF ₃ ,
Interhalogen compounds such as IF ₇ can be mentioned. As a silicon compound containing a halogen atom, that is, a so-called silane derivative substituted with a halogen atom, silicon fluorides such as SiF ₄ and Si ₂ F ₆ can be specifically mentioned as preferable examples.

To control the amount of hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms contained in the photoconductive layer 1103, for example, the temperature of the support 1101 and the raw material used for containing hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms. The amount of the substance introduced into the reaction container, the discharge power, etc. may be controlled.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the photoconductive layer 1103 contains an atom whose conductivity is controlled, if necessary. Atoms that control conductivity are photoconductive layer 1103.
It may be contained in a state where it is evenly and evenly distributed, or there may be a portion where it is contained in an unevenly distributed state in the layer thickness direction.

Examples of the above-mentioned atoms for controlling the conductivity include so-called impurities in the field of semiconductors, and atoms belonging to group IIIb of the periodic table which give p-type conductivity (hereinafter referred to as “group IIIb atom”). Or an atom belonging to group Vb of the periodic table (hereinafter referred to as “group Vb atom”) that provides n-type conductivity.

Specific examples of the group IIIb atom include boron (B), aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga),
There are indium (In), thallium (Tl) and the like, and B, Al and Ga are particularly preferable. As the group Vb atom,
Specifically, phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (S)
b), bismuth (Bi), etc., and P and As are particularly preferable.

The content of atoms controlling the conductivity contained in the photoconductive layer 1103 is preferably 1 × 10 ^-2 to
1 × 10 ⁴ atomic ppm, more preferably 5 × 10 ^{−2 to} 5
× 10 ³ atom ppm, optimally 1 × 10 ^-1 to 1 × 10 ³
It is desirable to set it to atomic ppm.

Atoms that control conductivity, eg, III
To structurally introduce a group b atom or a group Vb atom, a raw material for introducing a group IIIb atom or a raw material for introducing a group Vb atom in a gas state is placed in a reaction vessel during layer formation. Then, it may be introduced together with another gas for forming the photoconductive layer 1103. As a raw material for introducing a Group IIIb atom or a raw material for introducing a Group Vb atom, a gaseous substance at room temperature and normal pressure, or at least a substance that can be easily gasified under the layer forming condition is adopted. Is desirable.

As a raw material for introducing such a group IIIb atom, specifically, for introducing a boron atom, B ₂ H
_{6, B 4 H 10, B} 5 H 9, B 5 H 11, B 6 H 10, B 6 H
₁₂ , borohydride such as B ₆ H ₁₄ , BF ₃ , BCl ₃ , BB
Examples thereof include boron halides such as r ₃ . Besides this, Al
Cl ₃ , GaCl ₃ , Ga (CH ₃ ) ₃ , InCl ₃ ,
TlCl _{3 and the} like can also be mentioned.

Effectively used as a raw material for introducing a group Vb atom is PH ₃ , P for introducing a phosphorus atom.
₂ H ₄ , etc. Phosphorus hydride, PH ₄ I, PF ₃ , PF ₅ , P
Examples thereof include phosphorus halides such as Cl ₃ , PCl ₅ , PBr ₃ , PBr ₅ , and PI ₃ . In addition, AsH ₃ and AsF
₃ , AsCl ₃ , AsBr ₃ , AsF ₅ , SbH ₃ , S
bF ₃ , SbF ₅ , SbCl ₃ , SbCl ₅ , BiH
It can be mentioned as an effective starting material for introducing a Group Vb atom such as ₃ , BiCl ₃ and BiBr ₃ .

Further, these raw material substances for atom introduction for controlling the conductivity may be diluted with H ₂ and / or He as necessary and used.

Further, in the present invention, the photoconductive layer 110
It is also effective that 3 contains a carbon atom and / or an oxygen atom and / or a nitrogen atom. The content of carbon atoms and / or oxygen atoms / and / or nitrogen atoms is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ to 10 atom%, more preferably 1 × 10 ^{5 with} respect to the sum of silicon atoms, carbon atoms, oxygen atoms and nitrogen atoms. ^-4 to 8 atom%, optimally 1 × 10 ^{-3 to} 5 atom% is desirable. The carbon atom and / or the oxygen atom and / or the nitrogen atom may be uniformly contained in the photoconductive layer, or may be non-uniformly distributed such that the content varies in the thickness direction of the photoconductive layer. There may be a part that has.

In the present invention, the layer thickness of the photoconductive layer 1103 is appropriately determined as desired in view of obtaining desired electrophotographic characteristics and economical effects, and is preferably 20.
˜50 μm, more preferably 23 to 45 μm, most preferably 25 to 40 μm.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention and form the photoconductive layer 1103 having desired film characteristics, the mixing ratio of the gas for supplying Si and the diluting gas, the gas pressure in the reaction vessel, the discharge power and It is necessary to set the support temperature appropriately.

The optimum range of the flow rate of H ₂ and / or He used as the diluting gas is appropriately selected according to the layer design. However, the flow rate of H ₂ and / or He to the Si supply gas is usually 3 to 20 times, preferably 4 to 15
It is desirable to control in the range of double, optimally 5 to 10 times.

Similarly, the gas pressure in the reaction vessel is appropriately selected in accordance with the layer design, but in the usual case, it is 1 × 1.
0 ^{−4 to} 10 Torr, preferably 5 × 10 ^{−4 to} 5 Torr
r, optimally 1 × 10 ^{−3 to} 1 Torr is preferable.

Similarly, the discharge power is appropriately selected in an optimum range according to the layer design, but the discharge power with respect to the flow rate of the gas for supplying Si is usually 2 to 7 times, preferably 2.5 to 6 times. Optimally, it is desirable to set the range of 3 to 5 times.

Further, the temperature of the support 1101 is appropriately selected according to the layer design, but in the usual case, it is preferably 200 to 350 ° C., more preferably 23.
It is desirable that the temperature is 0 to 330 ° C., optimally 250 to 310 ° C.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned ranges are mentioned as desirable numerical ranges of the support temperature and the gas pressure for forming the photoconductive layer, but the conditions are not usually independently determined separately. It is desirable to determine the optimum value based on mutual and organic relationships to form a photoreceptor having desired characteristics. [Surface Layer] In the present invention, it is preferable to further form an amorphous silicon-based surface layer 1104 on the photoconductive layer 1103 formed on the support 1101 as described above. This surface layer 1104 is a free surface 1104.
a) (see FIG. 19B), and is provided to achieve the object of the present invention mainly in moisture resistance, continuous repeated use characteristics, electrical pressure resistance, use environment characteristics, and durability.

Further, in the present invention, the photosensitive layer 1102
Since each of the amorphous materials forming the photoconductive layer 1103 and the surface layer 1104 forming the same has a common constituent element of silicon atoms, chemical stability is sufficiently ensured at the stacking interface. ing.

The surface layer 1104 can be made of any material as long as it is an amorphous silicon material. For example, a hydrogen atom (H) and / or a halogen atom (X).
Amorphous silicon containing, and further containing a carbon atom (hereinafter referred to as "a-SiC: H, X"), a hydrogen atom (H) and / or a halogen atom (X), and further containing an oxygen atom. Amorphous silicon containing silicon (hereinafter referred to as “a-SiO: H, X”), hydrogen atom (H) and / or halogen atom (X), and further containing nitrogen atom (hereinafter referred to as “a-Si”).
N: H, X ”), a hydrogen atom (H) and / or a halogen atom (X), and further contains at least one of a carbon atom, an oxygen atom and a nitrogen atom (hereinafter referred to as“ a-SiCON ”). : H, X ”) and the like are preferably used.

In the present invention, in order to effectively achieve the object, the surface layer 1104 is formed by a vacuum deposition film forming method by appropriately setting numerical conditions of film forming parameters so that desired characteristics can be obtained. . Specifically, for example, glow discharge method (low-frequency CVD method, high-frequency CVD method, alternating-current discharge CVD method such as microwave CVD method, or direct-current discharge CVD method), sputtering method, vacuum deposition method,
It can be formed by various thin film deposition methods such as an ion plating method, a photo CVD method, and a thermal CVD method. These thin film deposition methods are appropriately selected and adopted depending on factors such as manufacturing conditions, a load level under capital investment, manufacturing scale, and desired characteristics of a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus to be prepared. From the viewpoint of productivity, it is preferable to use the same deposition method as for the photoconductive layer.

For example, a-Si is formed by the glow discharge method.
In order to form the surface layer 1104 composed of C: H and X, basically, a source gas for supplying Si that can supply silicon atoms (Si) and a source gas for supplying C that can supply carbon atoms (C) are used. A raw material gas, a raw material gas for supplying H that can supply hydrogen atoms (H) and / or a raw material gas for supplying X that can supply halogen atoms (X) can be stored in a desired reaction vessel in a reaction vessel. It is introduced in a gas state to cause a glow discharge in the reaction vessel, and a-Si is formed on the support 1101 on which the photoconductive layer 1103 previously formed at a predetermined position is formed.
A layer made of C: H and X may be formed.

The material of the surface layer used in the present invention may be any amorphous material containing silicon, but a compound with a silicon atom containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen and oxygen is preferable, and particularly, a
A material containing -SiC as a main component is preferable.

When the surface layer is composed mainly of a-SiC, the amount of carbon is preferably in the range of 30 to 90% with respect to the sum of silicon atoms and carbon atoms.

Further, in the present invention, it is necessary that the surface layer 1104 contains hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms, which compensates for dangling bonds of silicon atoms and improves the layer quality, especially light. It is indispensable for improving the conductivity and charge retention characteristics. The hydrogen content is usually 30 to 70 atom%, preferably 35 to 65 atom%, and optimally 40 to 60 atom% with respect to the total amount of the constituent atoms. In addition, the content of fluorine atoms is usually 0.01 to 15 atom%, preferably 0.
1 to 10 atomic% Optimally, it is desired to be 0.6 to 4 atomic%.

The photoconductor formed in the above range of hydrogen and / or fluorine content can be sufficiently applied as a remarkably excellent one which has not been found in the prior art. That is, it is known that defects existing in the surface layer (mainly dangling bonds of silicon atoms and carbon atoms) adversely affect the characteristics as a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus. For example, deterioration of charging characteristics due to injection of charges from the free surface into the photoconductive layer, fluctuation of charging characteristics due to change of surface structure in use environment such as high humidity, for example, surface structure changes under high humidity. Change in charging characteristics due to charging, and the charge is injected into the surface layer by the photoconductive layer during corona charging or light irradiation, and the charges are trapped by the defects in the surface layer, resulting in an afterimage phenomenon during repeated use. The occurrence of the above is mentioned as this adverse effect.

However, by controlling the hydrogen content in the surface layer to 30 atomic% or more, the defects in the surface layer are significantly reduced, and as a result, electrical characteristics and high-speed continuous usability are improved as compared with conventional ones. It is possible to achieve a dramatic improvement in.

On the other hand, the hydrogen content in the surface layer is 71
When the content is more than atomic%, the hardness of the surface layer decreases, and it becomes impossible to withstand repeated use. Therefore, controlling the hydrogen content in the surface layer within the above range is one of the very important factors for obtaining the desired electrophotographic properties that are remarkably excellent. The hydrogen content in the surface layer depends on the flow rate of H ₂ gas,
It can be controlled by the support temperature, discharge power, gas pressure and the like.

The fluorine content in the surface layer is 0.01
By controlling the content to be in the range of atomic% or more, it becomes possible to more effectively achieve the bond between silicon atoms and carbon atoms in the surface layer. Further, as a function of the fluorine atom in the surface layer, the breaking of the bond between the silicon atom and the carbon atom due to damage such as corona can be effectively prevented.

On the other hand, when the fluorine content in the surface layer exceeds 15 atomic%, the effect of generating the bond between the silicon atom and the carbon atom in the surface layer and the effect of preventing the breaking of the bond between the silicon atom and the carbon atom are almost obtained. Will not be recognized. Furthermore, since excess fluorine atoms impede the mobility of carriers in the surface layer, the residual potential and image memory are noticeable. Therefore, controlling the fluorine content in the surface layer within the above range is one of the important factors in obtaining desired electrophotographic characteristics. The fluorine content in the surface layer can be controlled by the flow rate of H ₂ gas, the temperature of the support, the discharge power, the gas pressure, etc., similarly to the hydrogen content.

As the substance which can be used as the gas for supplying silicon (Si) used in the formation of the surface layer of the present invention,
_{SiH 4, Si 2 H 6,} Si 3 H 8, Si 4 H , etc. of the gas states of ₁₀ or silicon hydride can be gasified, (silanes)
Is effectively used, and SiH is more advantageous in terms of ease of handling when forming a layer and good Si supply efficiency.
₄ , and Si ₂ H ₆ are preferred. In addition, if necessary, the source gas for supplying Si may be H
_It may be diluted with a gas such as ₂ , He, Ar, or Ne before use.

As a substance which can be a gas for supplying carbon,
_{CH 4, C 2 H 6,} C 3 H 8, C 4 H gas such state of _10, or carbon hydrogen can be gasified are exemplified as being effectively used, further layers when creating easy handling, Si
CH ₄ and C ₂ H ₆ are preferable as they are preferable in terms of supply efficiency. In addition, these raw material gases for supplying C may be diluted with a gas such as H ₂ , He, Ar, or Ne as needed before use.

Examples of substances that can serve as nitrogen or oxygen supply gas include NH ₃ , NO, N ₂ O, NO ₂ , H ₂ O and O.
_The compounds in the gas state such as ₂ , CO, CO ₂ , N ₂ or the like, which can be gasified, are mentioned as being effectively used. In addition, these raw material gases for supplying nitrogen and oxygen may be diluted with a gas such as H ₂ , He, Ar, and Ne as needed before use.

Further, in order to more easily control the introduction ratio of hydrogen atoms introduced into the surface layer 1104 to be formed, hydrogen gas or a silicon compound gas containing hydrogen atoms is added to these gases. It is also preferable to mix a desired amount to form a layer. Further, each gas may be mixed not only with one kind but also with plural kinds at a predetermined mixing ratio.

As a raw material gas for supplying halogen atoms, a gaseous or gasifiable halogen compound such as a halogen gas, a halide, an interhalogen compound containing halogen, or a silane derivative substituted with halogen is preferably used. . Further, a gaseous or gasifiable silicon hydride compound containing a halogen atom, which contains silicon atoms and a halogen atom as constituent elements, can also be cited as an effective one. Specific examples of the halogen compound that can be preferably used in the present invention include fluorine gas (F ₂ ), BrF, ClF, ClF ₃ , BrF ₃ ,
There can be mentioned interhalogen compounds such as BrF ₅ , IF ₃ and IF ₇ . As a silicon compound containing a halogen atom, a so-called silane derivative substituted with a halogen atom,
Specifically, silicon fluorides such as SiF ₄ and Si ₂ F ₆ can be mentioned as preferable examples.

To control the amount of hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms contained in the surface layer 1104, for example, the temperature of the support 1101 and the raw material used for containing hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms. The amount to be introduced into the reaction container, the discharge power, and the like may be controlled.

Carbon atom and / or oxygen atom and /
Alternatively, the nitrogen atoms may be evenly and uniformly contained in the surface layer, or the surface layer may have a portion having an uneven distribution such that the content changes in the layer thickness direction.

Further, in the present invention, the surface layer 1104
It is preferable to contain an atom for controlling conductivity as necessary. Atoms that control conductivity are surface layer 110.
4 may be contained in a uniformly distributed state in 4, or may be contained in an unevenly distributed state in the layer thickness direction.

As the atom for controlling the conductivity mentioned above, so-called impurities in the field of semiconductors can be mentioned, and a periodic table III group b atom or a periodic table which gives an n-type conductivity characteristic giving p-type conductivity. Group Vb atoms can be used.

Specific examples of the group IIIb atoms include boron (B), aluminum (A), film (Ga), indium (In), and thallium (Tl), and particularly B, Al, and Ga. Is preferred. As the group Vb atom,
Specifically, phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (S)
b), bismuth (Bi), etc., and P and As are particularly preferable.

The content of atoms for controlling the conductivity contained in the surface layer 1104 is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻³ to 1
× 10 ³ atomic ppm, more preferably 1 × 10 ^{-2 to} 5 ×
It is desirable that the concentration be 10 ² atomic ppm, optimally 1 × 10 ^-1 to 1 × 10 ² atomic ppm. In order to structurally introduce a conductivity controlling atom, for example, a group IIIb atom or a group Vb atom, a raw material for introducing a group IIIb atom or a group Vb atom is introduced during layer formation. The raw material for use in the gas may be introduced into the reaction vessel together with other gas for forming the surface layer 1104. No. III
As a raw material for introducing a b-group atom or a raw material for introducing a Vb-group atom, a gaseous substance at room temperature and atmospheric pressure or at least a gas which can be easily gasified under the layer forming condition is adopted. Is desirable. Such IIIb
Specific examples of the raw material for introducing a group atom include B ₂ H ₆ , B ₄ H ₁₀ , B ₅ H ₉ , and B ₅ H for introducing a boron atom.
Boron hydride such as ₁₁ , B ₆ H ₁₀ , B ₆ H ₁₂ , B ₆ H ₁₄ , B
Examples thereof include boron halides such as F ₃ , BCl ₃ and BBr ₃ . In addition, AlCl ₃ , GaCl ₃ , Ga (CH
₃ ) ₃ , InCl ₃ , TlCl _{3 and the} like can also be mentioned.

Effectively used as a raw material for introducing a group Vb atom is PH ₃ , P for introducing a phosphorus atom.
₂ H ₄ etc. Phosphorus hydride, PH ₄ I, PF ₃ , PF ₅ , PC
Examples thereof include phosphorus halides such as l ₃ , PCl ₅ , PBr ₃ , PBr ₅ , and PI ₃ . In addition, AsH ₃ , AsF ₃ ,
AsCl ₃ , AsBr ₃ , AsF ₅ , SbH ₃ , SbF
₃ , SbF ₅ , SbCl ₃ , SbCl ₅ , BiH ₃ , B
iCl ₃ , BiBr _{3 and the} like can also be mentioned as effective starting materials for introducing a Group Vb atom.

Further, these raw materials for introducing atoms for controlling the conductivity may be diluted with a gas such as H ₂ , He, Ar, Ne or the like, if necessary.

The thickness of the surface layer 1104 in the present invention is usually 0.01 to 3 μm, preferably 0.05 to 2 μm.
m, most preferably 0.1 to 1 μm. If the layer thickness is less than 0.01 μm, the surface layer will be lost due to wear or the like during use of the photoconductor, and the surface layer will be 3 μm.
When it exceeds m, electrophotographic characteristics such as increase in residual potential are deteriorated.

The surface layer 1104 according to the present invention is carefully formed to provide its desired properties as desired. That is, Si, C and / or N and /
Alternatively, the substance having O, H, and / or X as a constituent element structurally takes a form from crystalline to amorphous silicon depending on its forming condition, and has an electrical property from conductive to semiconducting to insulating. Since it shows the properties and the properties from the photoconductive property to the non-photoconductive property,
In the present invention, the formation conditions are rigorously selected as desired so that a compound having desired properties depending on the purpose is formed.

For example, in order to provide the surface layer 1104 mainly for the purpose of improving the pressure resistance, the surface layer 1104 is formed as a non-single crystal material having a remarkable electric insulating behavior in the use environment.

When the surface layer 1104 is provided mainly for the purpose of improving continuous repeated use characteristics and use environment characteristics, the above-mentioned degree of electrical insulation is relaxed to some extent, and to some extent to the irradiated light. It is formed as a non-single crystal material with sensitivity.

Further, in the charging device according to the present invention, in order to prevent the image deletion due to the low resistance of the surface layer or the influence of the residual potential, on the other hand, in order to improve the charging efficiency, the layer At the time of preparation, it is preferable to control the resistance value appropriately.

In order to form the surface layer 1104 having the characteristics capable of achieving the object of the present invention, the temperature of the support 1101
It is necessary to appropriately set the gas pressure in the reaction container as desired.

The temperature (Ts) of the support 1101 is appropriately selected in accordance with the layer design, but in the usual case, it is preferably 200 to 350 ° C., more preferably 23.
It is desirable that the temperature is 0 to 330 ° C., and optimally 250 to 300 ° C.

[0151] it is appropriately selected within an optimum range in accordance also with the designing of layer gas pressure in the reaction vessel, usually 1 × 10 ^-4
10 Torr, preferably 5 × 10 ^{−4 to} 5 Torr,
Optimally, it is preferably 1 × 10 ^{−3 to} 1 Torr.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned ranges are mentioned as desirable numerical ranges of the temperature of the support and the gas pressure for forming the surface layer, but the conditions are not usually independently determined separately, and are desired. It is desirable to determine the optimum value on the basis of mutual and organic relationships so as to form a photoconductor having the characteristics of.

Further, in the present invention, a blocking layer (lower surface layer) in which the content of carbon atoms, oxygen atoms and nitrogen atoms is smaller than that of the surface layer is provided between the photoconductive layer and the surface layer. It is effective for further improving the characteristics of.

Also, the surface layer 1104 and the photoconductive layer 1103.
A region where the content of carbon atoms and / or oxygen atoms and / or nitrogen atoms changes so as to decrease toward the photoconductive layer 1103 may be provided between and. This can improve the adhesion between the surface layer and the photoconductive layer, and further reduce the influence of interference due to the reflection of light at the interface. [Charge Injection Blocking Layer] In the photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention, a charge injection blocking layer having a function of blocking injection of charges from the conductive support side between the conductive support and the photoconductive layer. Is more effective. That is, the charge injection blocking layer has a function of blocking the injection of charges from the support side to the photoconductive layer side when the photosensitive layer receives a charging treatment of a constant polarity on its free surface. Such a function is not exhibited when it is subjected to a charging treatment, and it has so-called polarity dependence. In order to impart such a function, the charge injection blocking layer contains a relatively large number of atoms for controlling conductivity as compared with the photoconductive layer.

Atoms for controlling the conductivity contained in the charge injection blocking layer may be evenly distributed in this layer, or they may be evenly distributed in the layer thickness direction. However, there may be a portion containing the non-uniformly distributed state. When the distribution concentration is non-uniform, it is preferable that the content is so distributed as to be distributed more on the support side.

However, in any case, it is necessary that the content be evenly distributed in the in-plane direction parallel to the surface of the support in order to make the characteristics uniform in the in-plane direction. .

Examples of the atoms contained in the charge injection blocking layer for controlling the conductivity include so-called impurities in the field of semiconductors, and give a p-type conductivity.
Group III atoms or Group V atoms of the Periodic Table that provide n-type conduction properties can be used.

Specific examples of the group III atom include B
(Boron), Al (aluminum), Ga (gallilum),
There are In (indium), Ta (thallium) and the like, and B, Al and Ga are particularly preferable. Specific examples of the Group V atom include P (phosphorus), As (arsenic), Sb (antimony), Bi (bismuth), and the like, with P and As being particularly preferable.

In the present invention, the content of atoms controlling the conductivity contained in the charge injection blocking layer is appropriately determined according to need so that the object of the present invention can be effectively achieved, but is preferably 10 ~ 1 x 10 ⁴ atom ppm, more preferably 50 to 5 x 10 ³ atom ppm, optimally 1 x
It is desirable that the content is 10 ² to 1 × 10 ³ atom ppm.

Further, in the charge injection blocking layer, carbon atoms,
By containing at least one of a nitrogen atom and an oxygen atom, it is possible to further improve the adhesiveness with another layer provided in direct contact with the charge injection blocking layer.

The carbon atoms, nitrogen atoms or oxygen atoms contained in this layer may be evenly distributed in this layer, or even in the thickness direction of the layer. However, there may be a portion containing the non-uniformly distributed state. However, in any case, in the in-plane direction parallel to the surface of the support, it is necessary that the content be evenly distributed so that the characteristics in the in-plane direction can be made uniform.

Carbon atoms and / or nitrogen atoms contained in the entire layer region of the charge injection blocking layer of the present invention and / or
Alternatively, the content of oxygen atoms is appropriately determined so that the object of the present invention can be effectively achieved, but in the case of one kind, as the amount thereof, in the case of two or more kinds, the sum thereof, preferably 1 × 10 5. ^-3 to 50 atom%, more preferably 5 x 10 ^{-3 to} 3
It is desirable that the content is 0 atomic%, optimally 1 × 10 ^-2 to 10 atomic%.

Further, the hydrogen atom and / or the halogen atom contained in the charge injection blocking layer in the present invention compensates for dangling bonds existing in the layer and is effective in improving the film quality.
The content of hydrogen atoms or halogen atoms or the sum of hydrogen atoms and halogen atoms in the charge injection blocking layer is preferably 1
It is desirable that the content is -50 atom%, more preferably 5-40 atom%, and most preferably 10-30 atom%.

In the present invention, the thickness of the charge injection blocking layer is preferably 0.1 to 5 μm, more preferably 0.3 to 4 μm, from the viewpoint of obtaining desired electrophotographic characteristics and economical effects. Optimally, the thickness is preferably 0.5 to 3 μm.

To form the charge injection blocking layer in the present invention, a vacuum deposition method similar to the method for forming the photoconductive layer described above is employed.

To form the charge injection blocking layer 1105 having the characteristics that can achieve the objects of the present invention, the photoconductive layer 110 is used.
Similarly to 3, the mixing ratio of the gas for supplying Si and the diluent gas,
Gas pressure in reaction vessel, discharge power and support 1101
It is necessary to appropriately set the temperature of.

The flow rate of the diluting gas H ₂ and / or He is appropriately selected according to the layer design.
H ₂ and / or He is usually 1 to 20 times, preferably 3 to 15 times, and optimally 5 times the Si supply gas.
It is desirable to control in the range of 10 times.

Similarly, the gas pressure in the reaction vessel is appropriately selected according to the layer design, but is usually 1 × 10 ^{−4 to} 10 T.
orr, preferably 5 × 10 ^{−4 to} 5 Torr, and most preferably 1 × 10 ^{−3 to} 1 Torr.

Similarly, the discharge power is appropriately selected in the optimum range according to the layer design, but the discharge power with respect to the flow rate of the gas for supplying Si is usually 1 to 7 times, preferably 2 to
It is desirable to set the range of 6 times, optimally 3 to 5 times.

Further, the temperature of the support 1101 is appropriately selected according to the layer design, but in the usual case, it is preferably 200 to 350 ° C., more preferably 230 to 3 ° C.
It is desirable that the temperature is 30 ° C., optimally 250 to 300 ° C.

In the present invention, the above-mentioned ranges are mentioned as desirable numerical ranges of the mixing ratio of the diluent gas for forming the charge injection blocking layer, the gas pressure, the discharge power, and the temperature of the support. Are usually not independently determined separately, but it is desirable to determine the optimum value of each layer formation factor based on mutual and organic relationships to form a surface layer having desired properties.

In addition, in the image forming apparatus photoreceptor of the present invention, the photosensitive layer 1102 is provided on the support 1101 side.
It is desirable to have a layer region containing at least aluminum atoms, silicon atoms, hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms in a non-uniform distribution state in the layer thickness direction.

In the photoconductor for an image forming apparatus of the present invention, for the purpose of further improving the adhesion between the support 1101 and the photoconductive layer 1103 or the charge injection blocking layer 1105, for example, Si3 ₃ N ₄ , SiO ₂ , SiO,
Alternatively, an adhesion layer composed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as a base and containing hydrogen atoms and / or halogen atoms and carbon atoms and / or oxygen atoms and / or nitrogen atoms may be provided. Further, as described above, a light absorption layer may be provided to prevent the occurrence of an interference pattern due to the reflected light from the support.

Next, the apparatus and film forming method for forming the photosensitive layer will be described in detail.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for manufacturing a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus by a high frequency plasma CVD method (hereinafter referred to as "RF-PCVD") using an RF band as a power supply frequency. The structure of the manufacturing apparatus shown in the figure is as follows.

This apparatus is roughly classified into a deposition apparatus 210.
0, a source gas supply device 2200, and an exhaust device (not shown) for reducing the pressure inside the reaction vessel 2111. A cylindrical support 2112, a heater 2113 for heating the support, a source gas introduction pipe 2114 are installed in a reaction vessel 2111 in the deposition apparatus 2100, and a high frequency matching box 2115 is further connected.

The source gas supply device 2200 is composed of SiH ₄ ,
Source gas cylinders 2221 to 2226 such as GeH ₄ , H ₂ , CH ₄ , B ₂ H ₆ , and PH ₃ and valves 2231 to 22
36, inflow valves 2241 to 2246, outflow valve 22
51 to 2256 and mass flow controller 2211
˜2216, and each source gas cylinder is connected to a source gas introduction pipe 2114 in the reaction vessel 2111 via an auxiliary valve 2260.

The deposited film can be formed using this apparatus, for example, as follows.

First, a cylindrical support 2112 is installed in the reaction vessel 2111 and the inside of the reaction vessel 2111 is exhausted by an exhaust device (not shown) (for example, a vacuum pump). Continuing,
The cylindrical support 211 is heated by the heater 2113 for heating the support.
The temperature of 2 is controlled to a predetermined temperature of 200 to 350 ° C.

The source gas for forming the deposited film is supplied to the reaction vessel 211.
In order to make it flow into 1, the gas cylinder valves 2231-2
236, make sure that the leak valve 2117 of the reaction vessel is closed, and check the inflow valves 2241 to 224.
6, outflow valves 2251 to 2256, auxiliary valve 226
Make sure 0 is open, then first open main valve 2
118 is opened and the reaction vessel 2111 and the gas piping 211 are opened.
The inside of 6 is exhausted.

Next, the reading of the vacuum gauge 2119 is about 5 × 10 ^-6.
When it becomes Torr, the auxiliary valve 2260 and the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 are closed.

After that, the gas cylinders 2221 to 2226 introduce the respective gases by opening the valves 2231 to 2236, and the pressure regulators 2261 to 2266 reduce the respective gas pressures to two.
Adjust to kg / cm ² . Next, the inflow valves 2241-2
246 is gradually opened to introduce each gas into the mass flow controllers 2211 to 216.

After the preparation for film formation is completed as described above, each layer is formed by the following procedure.

When the cylindrical support 2112 reaches a predetermined temperature, necessary ones of the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 and the auxiliary valve 2260 are gradually opened, and a predetermined gas is supplied from the gas cylinders 2221 to 2226 to the gas introducing pipe 2.
It is introduced into the reaction vessel 2111 via 114. Next, the mass flow controllers 2211 to 2216 are adjusted so that each raw material gas has a predetermined flow rate. At that time, while watching the vacuum gauge 2119, the main valve 2 is adjusted so that the pressure in the reaction vessel 2111 becomes a predetermined pressure of 1 Torr or less.
Adjust the opening at 118. When the internal pressure is stable, an RF power source (not shown) having a frequency of 13.56 MHz is set to a desired power, and RF power is introduced into the reaction vessel 2111 through the high frequency matching box 2115 to cause glow discharge. The source energy introduced into the reaction vessel 2111 is decomposed by this discharge energy, and a predetermined deposited film containing silicon as a main component is formed on the cylindrical support 2112. After the desired film thickness is formed, the supply of the RF power is stopped, and the outflow valves 2251-2
256 is closed to stop the gas from flowing into the reaction container 2111, and the formation of the deposited film is completed.

By repeating the same operation a plurality of times, a photosensitive layer having a desired multilayer structure is formed.

Needless to say, all the outflow valves other than the necessary gas are closed when forming each layer, and each gas is supplied to the reaction vessel 2111.
Inside, outflow valves 2251 to 2256 to reaction vessel 211
In order to avoid remaining in the gas pipe 2116 up to 1, the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 are closed, the auxiliary valve 2260 is opened, the main valve 2118 is fully opened, and the system is temporarily evacuated to a high vacuum. Do as needed.

Further, in order to make the film formation uniform, it is effective to rotate the cylindrical support 2112 at a predetermined speed by a driving device (not shown) while the layers are being formed.

Needless to say, the above-mentioned gas species and valve operation may be changed according to the production conditions of each layer.

Next, a method of manufacturing a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus, which is formed by a high frequency plasma CVD (hereinafter referred to as “VHF-PCVD”) method using a VHF band frequency as a power source, will be described.

R in the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG.
The deposition apparatus 2100 by the F-PCVD method is replaced with the deposition apparatus 3100 shown in FIG.
By connecting to (not shown in FIG. 11), the photoconductor manufacturing apparatus for an image forming apparatus having the following configuration by the VHF-PCVD method shown in FIG. 11 can be obtained.

This apparatus is roughly classified into a vacuum-tightened structure,
Reaction vessel 3111 capable of reducing pressure, source gas supply device 2
200 and an exhaust device (not shown) for reducing the pressure inside the reaction container 3111. Reaction vessel 31
11, a cylindrical support 3112, a heater 3113 for heating the support, a source gas introduction pipe 3114, and an electrode are installed.
A high-frequency matching backs 3116 is further connected to the electrodes. Further, the exhaust pipe 31 is provided inside the reaction container 3111.
It is connected through 21 to a diffusion pump (not shown).

Source gas supply device 2200 (see FIG. 10)
Is SiH ₄ , GeH ₄ , H ₂ , CH ₄ , B ₂ H ₆ , P
Cylinders 2221 to 2226 of raw material gas such as H ₃ and valves 2231 to 2236, inflow valves 2241 to 2246,
It is composed of outflow valves 2251 to 2256 and mass flow controllers 2211 to 2216, and the cylinder of each source gas is a reaction vessel 3111 via an auxiliary valve 2260.
It is connected to the gas introduction pipe 3114 inside. A space 3130 surrounded by the cylindrical support 3112 forms a discharge space.

The deposition film formation by this apparatus by the VHF-PCVD method can be performed as follows.

First, the cylindrical support 3112 is installed in the reaction vessel 3111, and the support rotation motor (driving device) 3 is installed.
The cylindrical support 3112 is rotated by 120, and the reaction container 311 is rotated by an exhaust device (not shown) (for example, a vacuum pump).
1 is evacuated through the exhaust pipe 3121, and the reaction container 311
The pressure in 1 is adjusted to 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ Torr or less. Subsequently, the support heating heater 3113 heats and holds the temperature of the cylindrical support 3112 at a predetermined temperature of 200 to 350 ° C.

A source gas for forming a deposited film is supplied to the reaction vessel 311.
In order to make it flow into 1, the gas cylinder valves 2231-2
236, make sure that the leak valve (not shown) of the reaction vessel is closed, and check the inflow valves 2241-22
46, outflow valves 2251 to 2256, auxiliary valve 22
After confirming that 60 is open, first open the main valve (not shown) to open the reaction vessel 3111 and the gas pipe 2.
The inside of 116 is exhausted.

Next, the reading of the vacuum gauge (not shown) is about 5 × 10.
At the time of ^-6 Torr, the auxiliary valve 2260 and the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 are closed.

Thereafter, the gases are introduced from the gas cylinders 2221 to 2226 by opening the valves 2231 to 2236,
Each pressure of 2kg by pressure regulators 2261 to 2266
Adjust to / cm ² . Next, inflow valves 2241 to 224
6 is opened gradually to let each gas flow through the mass flow controller 2
211-21216.

After the preparation for film formation is completed as described above, each layer is formed on the cylindrical support 3112 as follows.

When the cylindrical support 3112 reaches a predetermined temperature, necessary ones of the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 and the auxiliary valve 2260 are gradually opened, and a predetermined gas is supplied from the gas cylinders 2221 to 2226 to the raw material gas introduction pipe 3114. Through the discharge space 31 in the reaction vessel 3111
Introduce to 30. Next, mass flow controller 2211
~ 2216 is adjusted so that each source gas has a predetermined flow rate. At that time, the pressure in the discharge space 3130 is 1T.
The opening of the main valve (not shown) is adjusted while observing a vacuum gauge (not shown) so that a predetermined pressure of or or less is obtained.

When the pressure is stable, the frequency is 500M.
Set the VHF power source (not shown) of Hz to the desired power,
Discharge space 3130 through matching box 3116
VHF electric power is introduced to generate a glow discharge. In the discharge space 3130 surrounded by the cylindrical support 3112 in this way, the introduced source gas is excited by the discharge energy and dissociated, so that the cylindrical support 3
A predetermined deposited film is formed on 112. At this time, in order to make the layer formation uniform, the support rotating motor 3120 is rotated at a desired rotation speed.

After the desired film thickness is formed, the supply of VHF power is stopped, the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 are closed to stop the gas from flowing into the reaction container 3111, and the formation of the deposited film is completed.

By repeating the same operation a plurality of times, a photosensitive layer having a desired multilayer structure is formed.

Needless to say, all the outflow valves other than the necessary gas are closed when forming each layer, and each gas is stored in the reaction vessel 3111.
In order to avoid remaining in the gas pipe 2116 extending from the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 to the reaction vessel 3111, the outflow valves 2251 to 2256 are closed, the auxiliary valve 2260 is opened, and the main valve (not shown) is fully opened. If necessary, the operation of temporarily evacuating the inside to a high vacuum is performed.

It goes without saying that the above-mentioned gas species and valve operation may be changed according to the production conditions of each layer.

In any method, the temperature of the cylindrical supports 2112, 3112 during the formation of the deposited film is especially 200
℃ or more and 350 ℃ or less, preferably 230 ℃ or more and 330 ℃
Hereafter, more preferably 250 ° C. or higher and 300 ° C. or lower.

The heating method for the cylindrical support may be any heating element having a vacuum specification, and more specifically, an electric resistance heating element such as a wound heater of a sheath heater, a plate heater, a ceramic heater, or a halogen lamp. Examples include a heat-radiation lamp heating element such as an infrared lamp, and a heating element by a heat exchange means using a liquid, gas or the like as a heating medium. As the surface material of the heating means, metals such as stainless steel, nickel, aluminum and copper, ceramics, heat resistant polymer resin and the like can be used.

In addition to the above, a method in which a container dedicated to heating is provided in addition to the reaction container, and after heating, the cylindrical support is conveyed into the reaction container in a vacuum is used.

Further, particularly in the VHF-PCVD method,
The pressure of the discharge space is preferably 1 mTorr or more 5
It is desirable to set it to 00 mTorr or less, more preferably 3 mTorr or more and 300 mTorr or less, and most preferably 5 mTorr or more and 100 mTorr or less.

The discharge space 31 in the VHF-PCVD method
The size and shape of the electrodes provided on 30 may be any as long as they do not disturb the discharge, but in practice the diameter is 1
A cylindrical shape having a size of not less than mm and not more than 10 cm is preferable. At this time, the length of the electrode can be arbitrarily set as long as the electric field is uniformly applied to the cylindrical support 3112.

Any material may be used as the material of the electrode as long as it has a conductive surface. For example, stainless steel, Al, Cr, Mo, Au, In, Nb, Te, V,
Metals such as Ti, Pt, Pb, and Fe, alloys of these, or glass, ceramics, plastics whose surface is treated to be conductive, etc. are usually used.

By implementing the contents described above individually or in combination, excellent effects can be obtained.

The charging device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in more detail by giving numerical values. The present invention is not limited to these examples.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a magnetic brush layer of a contact charging member made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less, and having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω · cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer is M manufactured by HIOKI.
It was measured with an Ω tester at an applied voltage of 500V. 1
Reference numeral 02 denotes a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, which has a magnetic field line density of 1000 G at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102. The contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a gap 1 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor.
08 (see FIG. 2) is a spacer, 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor, 105 is a plate-like member that regulates the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer, and 106 is a nip width.

As the multi-pole magnetic body 102, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this embodiment, a plurality of magnetic poles having 6 to 18 poles are set and manufactured.

For the brush layer, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm such as a magnetic powder was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment is 6
˜7 mm.

The plate-like member 105 can independently adjust the distance to the multipolar magnetic body 102 at both ends thereof, and can adjust the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer 101, whereby the contact charging member. Gap between the and photoconductor
It is possible to adjust the nip width 106 at 08 in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer 101 on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 22 shows a result obtained by preparing several kinds of charged body 104 such as a photoconductor having different charging unevenness, and examining whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above charging device.

As can be seen from FIG. 22, the charging device capable of adjusting the nip in the longitudinal direction by the structure having the plate-like member for controlling the thickness of the magnetic brush layer allows the charging target to have a monotonous inclination in uneven charging. It is possible to reduce uneven charging, and it is possible to provide a contact type charging system that can deal with a wide range of changes in image forming apparatus settings such as process speed and charging setting of the image holding member.

FIG. 18 shows an example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above-mentioned charging carrier, and a brush layer 1002 composed of the multipolar magnetic material 1002-2 and the charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
-1 and. Further, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (3M electrical tape 1181) may be applied so that the applied voltage after the brush layer 1002-1 is formed on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is well applied to each part of the brush layer. , 1170) or the like, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a magnetic ferrite, a magnetic mag, or a magnetic toner carrier as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV applied by a MIO tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) in order to maintain good charging efficiency and to prevent pinholes. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

The image carrier 1001 and the multipolar magnetic material 1002-
The closest gap with 2 is 50 to 2 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 000 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, more preferably 100 to 10
It is 00 μm.

The contact charging member 1002 is the above-mentioned member shown in FIG. 1, and the plate-like member 105 is
The distance to the multi-pole magnetic body 102 can be adjusted independently at both ends thereof, and the thickness of the magnetic brush layer 101 is 10
7, the nip width 106 in the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage applying power source for the charging member. The power source 1003 applies a DC voltage V _dc to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1001 by irradiating the image forming light beam 1005. This latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developing sleeve 1006 coated with a developer, and then transferred onto a transfer material 1007 via a transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed by the cleaning blade 1009 from the photosensitive drum 1001.
1 removed from above. On the other hand, the toner image on the surface of the transfer material 1007 is fixed by a fixing device (not shown), and then discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body.

On the other hand, the diameter of 108 is obtained by using the apparatus for manufacturing a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus by the RF-PCVD method shown in FIG.
On an aluminum cylinder with a mirror-finished surface of mm,
Under the conditions shown in FIG. 23, a photoconductor including a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer and a surface layer was produced. Furthermore, SiH _{4 of the} photoconductive layer
Various photoconductors were prepared by changing the mixing ratio of H ₂ and H ₂ and the discharge power.

The prepared photoconductor and charging member are shown in FIG.
The charging ability was evaluated by setting in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. The results are shown in Fig. 20. The resistance value of the charging member is
When it has a resistance of 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm,
Good charging was obtained. More preferably, 1 × 10 ⁴ to
When 1 × 10 ⁹ Ω · cm, good charging characteristics and environmental characteristics such as image deletion were obtained. Specifically, 600 V _dc
The potential immediately after being charged by application was measured by a surface potential meter manufactured by Trek (manufacturer), and the dark state potential was 550 to 6
The charging efficiency was 00 V, and the charging efficiency was 90 to 100%, which was very good.

When the resistance of the charging member was less than 1 × 10 ³ Ω · cm, abnormal discharge and pinhole were generated and the photoreceptor was damaged. Further, when it was 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm or more, charging efficiency was lowered and charging by injection hardly occurred.

Further, the temperature dependence of chargeability (temperature characteristic), memory and image deletion were evaluated.

The temperature characteristic is that the temperature of the photosensitive member is from room temperature to about 4
The chargeability was measured while changing the temperature to 5 ° C., and the change in the chargeability per 1 ° C. at this time was measured, and 2 V / deg or less was determined to be acceptable.

Further, regarding the memory and the image deletion, the image was visually judged and 1: very good, 2: good, 3 :.
There is no problem in practical use, 4: Rank is classified into four stages, which is somewhat difficult in practical use.

On the other hand, on a glass substrate (Corning 7059) and a Si wafer placed in a cylindrical sample holder, a film having a film thickness of about 1 μm was formed under the conditions of forming the photoconductive layer.
A Si film was deposited. A comb-shaped electrode of A is vapor-deposited on the deposited film on the glass substrate, the characteristic energy (Eu) of the exponential tail and the localized level density (DOS) are measured by CPM, and Si is used.
The amount of hydrogen contained in the deposited film on the wafer was measured by FTIR.

FIG. 1 shows the relationship between Eu and the temperature characteristic at this time.
2, D. O. Figure 1 shows the relationship between S, memory, and image flow.
3, shown in FIG. The hydrogen content of each sample is 1
It was between 0 and 30% atomic%.

As is apparent from FIGS. 12, 13 and 14, Eu = 50-60 meV, D.I. O. S = 1 ×
It was found that the range of 10 ¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 is necessary for obtaining good electrophotographic characteristics.

Similarly, a sample of the surface layer was prepared,
The resistance value was measured using a comb-shaped electrode.

The resistance value of the surface layer of the photoconductor has good electric characteristics such as charge retention ability and charging efficiency, and in order to prevent the surface layer from being damaged by voltage, so-called pinhole leak, It is preferable to have a resistance of 1 × 10 ^{10 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁵ Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ¹² 〜
It is 1 × 10 ¹⁴ Ω · cm. The resistance value is measured by HIOKI
The measurement was performed with an MΩ tester manufactured by the same company (manufacturer) at an applied voltage of 0.25 to 1 kV.

Whether the density unevenness can be corrected by the image forming apparatus as described above for various photoconductors produced by changing the mixing ratio of SiH ₄ and H _{2 in the} photoconductive layer and the discharge power as described above. The results of the examination are shown in FIG.
Shown in

As can be seen from FIG. 24, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV and the density of localized states is 1 × 10.
¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 improves temperature characteristics, memory, etc., and at the same time, 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω
・ By using a charging device that has a plate-shaped member that regulates the thickness of the magnetic brush layer that has a resistance of cm, and the nip can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to reduce uneven density in the charged object that has uneven charging. Thus, an image forming apparatus with high total quality is possible. <Embodiment 2> FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 3, 10
Reference numeral 1 denotes a magnetic brush layer of a contact charging member, which is made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less and has a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω · cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer 101 is HIO.
It was measured at an applied voltage of 500 V with a MΩ tester manufactured by KI. 102 is a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, and has a magnetic force line density 1000 G at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102. A contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a spacer that regulates the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor, 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor, and 105 is a plate-like member that regulates the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer. It is composed of a member, and 106 is a nip width.

As the multi-pole magnetic body 102, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this example, a plurality of magnetic poles of 6 to 18 were set and manufactured.

For the brush layer 101, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm, such as a magnet, was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment was 6 to 7 mm.

The plate-like member 105 is composed of a plurality of independent members, and each of them is independent of the multipolar magnetic material 102.
The distance to the magnetic brush layer 101 is adjustable.
The thickness 107 of the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be adjusted so that the nip width
06 can be finely adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer 101 on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 25 shows the results of examination as to whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above-described charging device for several kinds of charged bodies 104 such as photoconductors having different charging unevenness.

As can be seen from FIG. 25, the structure having a plurality of plate-like members for controlling the thickness of the magnetic brush layer enables fine nip adjustment in the longitudinal direction,
It is possible to reduce the uneven charging of the charged body that shakes the complicated tendency, and it is possible to provide a contact type charging system that can support a wide range of changes in the image forming apparatus settings such as the process speed and the charging setting of the image holding member. became.

Further, FIG. 18 shows an example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above-mentioned charging carrier, and a brush layer 1002 composed of the multipolar magnetic material 1002-2 and the charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
-1 and. In order that the applied voltage after the brush layer 1002-1 is formed on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is favorably applied to each part of the brush layer 1002-1, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (manufactured by 3M Company) electr
The magnetic tape 1181, 1170) or the like may be coated with a magnetically permeable or conductive tape, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a carrier of magnetic ferrite, magnetic mag, or magnetic toner as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV applied by a MIO tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) in order to maintain good charging efficiency and to prevent pinholes. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

Image carrier 1001 and contact charging member 1002
The closest gap of 50 to 200 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 0 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

Here, the contact charging member 1002 is shown in FIG.
The above-described member shown in FIG. 4, which is a plate-like member 10
5, the distance to the multi-pole magnetic body 102 can be adjusted independently at both ends thereof, and the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer 101 can be adjusted, whereby the contact charging member 105 and the photoconductor 104 are separated from each other. The nip width 106 at the gap 108 can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer 101 on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member, and a DC voltage V _dc is applied by the power source 1003 to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1001 by irradiating the image forming light beam 1005. This latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing sleeve 1006 coated with the developer,
It is transferred onto the transfer material 1007 via the transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed from the photosensitive drum by the cleaning blade 1009. On the other hand, the transfer material 1007 is ejected to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body after the toner image on the surface is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, various photoconductors and charging members manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were set in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. FIG. 26 shows the result of examination on whether image deletion and uneven density can be corrected.

As can be seen from FIG. 26, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV and the density of localized states is 1 × 10 5.
¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 improves temperature characteristics, memory, etc., and at the same time, 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω
・ By using a charging device that has a plate-shaped member that regulates the thickness of the magnetic brush layer that has a resistance of cm, and the nip can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to reduce uneven density in the charged object that has uneven charging. Thus, an image forming apparatus with high total quality is possible. <Embodiment 3> FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In these figures,
Reference numeral 101 denotes a contact charging member, which is a magnetic brush layer made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less, 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω ·
It has a resistance of cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer 101 is H
It was measured at an applied voltage of 500 V with an IOKI MΩ tester. Reference numeral 102 denotes a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, which is 1 m from the surface of the magnetic body 102.
The magnetic field line density at the magnetic pole position is 1000 G, measured at a distance of m. The contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a spacer that regulates the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor, 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor, and 105 is the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer.
Is a plate-like member that regulates the, and 106 is a nip width.

As the multi-pole magnetic material, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this example, a plurality of magnetic poles of 6 to 18 were set and manufactured.

For the brush layer, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm, such as a magnet, was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment is 6
˜7 mm.

The plate-shaped member 105 is made of an elastic material, and by deforming it, the distance to the multipolar magnetic material 102 can be adjusted, and the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer 101 can be adjusted. Therefore, the nip width 106 in the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 27 shows the results of examination as to whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above-described charging device for several types of charged bodies 104 such as photoconductors having different charging unevenness.

As can be seen from FIG. 27, the structure having the plate-like elastic member for regulating the thickness of the magnetic brush layer makes it possible to adjust the nip in the longitudinal direction and has a complicated tendency. It becomes possible to flexibly adjust the uneven charging, and it becomes possible to provide a contact type charging system capable of widely responding to the setting change of the image forming apparatus such as the process speed and the charging setting of the image holding member.

FIG. 18 shows an example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above charging carrier, which is a brush layer 1002-1 composed of a multipolar magnetic material 1002-2 and a charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
Consists of In order that the applied voltage after forming the brush layer 1002-1 on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is favorably applied to each part of the brush layer, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (3M electrical tape 1).
181, 1170) or the like, or a magnetically permeable or conductive tape may be stretched, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a carrier of magnetic ferrite, magnetic mag, or magnetic toner as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV applied by a MIO tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) in order to maintain good charging efficiency and to prevent pinholes. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

Image carrying member 1001 and contact charging member 1002
The closest gap of 50 to 200 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 0 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

Here, the contact charging member 1002 is shown in FIG.
The above-described member shown in FIG. 6, which is a plate-like member 10
Since 5 is an elastic body, the distance to the multipolar magnetic body 102 can be flexibly adjusted, and the magnetic brush layer 1
The thickness 107 of No. 01 can be adjusted, whereby the nip width 106 in the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, it is possible to freely control the potential of the charged body by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member. A DC voltage V _dc is applied by the power source 1003 to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, by irradiating the image forming light beam 1005, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1001. This latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developing sleeve 1006 coated with a developer, and then transferred onto a transfer material 1007 via a transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed by the cleaning blade 1009 from the photosensitive drum 1001.
1 removed from above. On the other hand, the transfer material 1007 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body after the toner image on the surface is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, various photoconductors and charging members manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were set in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. FIG. 28 shows the result of examination as to whether or not image deletion and density unevenness can be corrected.

As can be seen from FIG. 28, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV, and the localized density of states is 1 × 10.
¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 improves temperature characteristics, memory, etc., and at the same time, 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω
The thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer can be flexibly adjusted in the longitudinal direction by the configuration having the plate-shaped elastic member that regulates the thickness of the magnetic brush layer having a resistance of cm, and the contact charging member and the photoconductor are The charging device capable of continuously adjusting the nip width 106 in the gap 108 in the longitudinal direction makes it possible to reduce the density unevenness of the charged body having the charge unevenness, resulting in a high-quality image in total. Forming equipment has become possible. <Embodiment 4> FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 101 denotes a contact charging member, which is a magnetic brush layer made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less, and having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω · cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer is MΩ manufactured by HIOKI.
It was measured with a tester at an applied voltage of 500V. 10
Reference numeral 2 denotes a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, which has a magnetic line density of 1000 G at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102. The contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a gap 10 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor.
8 is a spacer for regulating 8; 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor;
Reference numeral 105 is a plate-like member that regulates the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer, and 106 is a nip width.

As the multi-pole magnetic body, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this example, a plurality of magnetic poles of 6 to 18 were set and manufactured.

For the brush layer, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm such as a magnetic powder was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment is 6
˜7 mm.

The spacer 103 is a cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 1.
02 is arranged coaxially with the No. 02, and the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be changed by changing the diameter, and the nip width 106 can be lengthened by changing the bunlas of the spacer diameter on both sides. It is possible to adjust in the direction.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 29 shows the results of examining whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above-described charging device for several types of charged bodies 104 such as a photoconductor having different charging unevenness.

As can be seen from FIG. 29, the charging device which can adjust the nip in the longitudinal direction has a structure in which the balance of the spacer diameters on both sides for regulating the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photosensitive member can be changed, so that the charging unevenness is monotonous. It is possible to reduce the uneven charging of the charged object that has a large inclination, and it is possible to cover a wide range of changes in the setting of the image forming apparatus such as the process speed and the charging setting of the image holding member. The system is ready.

FIG. 18 shows an example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above-mentioned charging carrier, and a brush layer 1002-consisting of the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 and the charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
It consists of 1. Further, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (3M electrical tape 1181) may be applied so that the applied voltage after the brush layer 1002-1 is formed on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is well applied to each part of the brush layer. , 1170) or the like, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a magnetic ferrite, a magnetic mag, or a magnetic toner carrier as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV applied by a MIO tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) in order to maintain good charging efficiency and to prevent pinholes. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

Image carrier 1001 and contact charging member 1002
The closest gap of 50 to 200 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 0 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

Here, the contact charging member 1002 is the above-mentioned member shown in FIG. 7, and is a cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 1.
02 by changing the diameter of the spacer 103 arranged coaxially with the contact charging member and the photoconductor.
8 can be changed, and the nip width 106 can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction by changing the balance of the spacer diameters on both sides.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member. A DC voltage V _dc is applied by the power source 1003 to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1001 by irradiating the image forming light beam 1005. This latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developing sleeve 1006 coated with a developer, and then transferred onto a transfer material 1007 via a transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed by the cleaning blade 1009 from the photosensitive drum 1001.
1 removed from above. On the other hand, the transfer material 1007 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body after the toner image on the surface is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, various photoconductors and charging members manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were set in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. FIG. 30 shows the result of examination as to whether or not image deletion and uneven density can be corrected.

As can be seen from FIG. 30, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV, and the density of localized states is 1 × 10.
^{By being 14} to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ⁻³ , the temperature characteristics, memory, etc. are improved, and at the same time, the cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 102 is formed.
With a configuration that can change the balance of the spacer diameters on both sides coaxially arranged with 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10
A charging device with a ¹² nΩ · cm resistance that can adjust the nip in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic brush layer can reduce the uneven density of the charged object with uneven charging, thus forming a high-quality image overall. The device is ready. <Embodiment 5> FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 8, 101 is a contact charging member, which is a magnetic brush layer made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less, and having a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω · cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer is MΩ manufactured by HIOKI.
It was measured with a tester at an applied voltage of 500V. 10
Reference numeral 2 denotes a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, which has a magnetic line density of 1000 G at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102. The contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a gap 10 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor.
8 is a spacer for regulating 8; 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor;
Reference numeral 105 is a plate-like member that regulates the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer, and 106 is a nip width.

As the multipolar magnetic material, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this example, a plurality of magnetic poles of 6 to 18 were set and manufactured.

For the brush layer, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm, such as a magnet, was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment is 6
˜7 mm.

The spacer 103 has the same diameter as the photosensitive member,
It is arranged so as to be eccentric with respect to the axis of the cylindrical multi-pole magnetic body 102. By changing the eccentricity and the diameter of the multi-pole magnetic body 102, the contact charging member and the photoconductor are rotated at the rotation cycle of the photoconductor. The gap 108 can be changed, and the gap 108 can also be changed in the longitudinal direction by changing the balance of the eccentric amounts on both sides. Thereby, the nip width 106 can be adjusted in the rotation direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 31 shows the result of examination as to whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above-mentioned charging device for several kinds of charged bodies 104 such as photoconductors having different charging unevenness.

As can be seen from FIG. 31, a spacer 103 having the same diameter as the photosensitive member is provided, and the spacer 103 is eccentrically arranged with respect to the axis of the cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 102. By changing the gap, the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be changed depending on the rotation cycle of the photoconductor, and the charging device capable of adjusting the nip width 106 in the rotation direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor. , It becomes possible to reduce the charging unevenness with respect to the charging unevenness of the charged body having the charging unevenness in the rotation direction, and at the same time, the charging unevenness of the charged body having the monotonous inclination in the longitudinal direction, This can be alleviated, and a contact-type charging system capable of handling a wide range of changes in the setting of the image forming apparatus such as the process speed and the charging setting of the image holding member has become possible.

An example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system is shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above-mentioned charging carrier, and a brush layer 1002-consisting of a multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 and a charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
It consists of 1. Further, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (3M electrical tape 1181) may be applied so that the applied voltage after the brush layer 1002-1 is formed on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is well applied to each part of the brush layer. , 1170) or the like, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a carrier of magnetic ferrite, magnetic mag, or magnetic toner as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV with an MΩ tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) in order to maintain good charging efficiency and to prevent pinholes. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

Image carrier 1001 and contact charging member 1002
The closest gap of 50 to 200 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 0 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

Here, the contact charging member 1002 is the above-mentioned member shown in FIG. 8, and is arranged with the axis of the cylindrical multi-pole magnetic body 102 eccentric to the spacer having the same diameter as the photosensitive member. The eccentricity and the multipolar magnetic body 102
By changing the diameter of, the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be changed according to the rotation period of the photoconductor.
By changing the balance of the eccentricity on both sides, the gap 108 can be changed also in the longitudinal direction, and the nip width 106 can be adjusted in the rotational direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, it is possible to freely control the potential of the charged body by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member. A DC voltage V _dc is applied by the power source 1003 to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, by irradiation with the image forming light beam 1005, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. This latent image is a development sleeve 10 coated with a developer.
After being visualized as a toner image by 06, it is transferred onto a transfer material 1007 through a transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed from the photosensitive drum 1001 by the cleaning blade 1009. On the other hand, the transfer material 1007 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body after the toner image on the surface is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, various photoconductors and charging members manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were set in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. FIG. 32 shows the result of examination on whether or not image deletion and density unevenness can be corrected.

As can be seen from FIG. 32, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV and the density of localized states is 1 × 10.
^{Since it is 14} to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ⁻³ , the temperature characteristic, memory, etc. are improved, and at the same time, the eccentric amount of the cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 102 arranged eccentrically with respect to the spacer having the same diameter as the photoconductor And the diameter of the multipolar magnetic body 102 can be changed,
By changing the balance of the amount of eccentricity on both sides, the gap 108 can be changed also in the longitudinal direction, and the nip width 106 can be adjusted in the rotational direction and the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member, so that the gap is 1 × 10. ³ ~ 1 x 10 ¹² Ω ・
The magnetic brush nip, which has a resistance of cm, can adjust the nip of the photoconductor in the longitudinal direction and the rotation direction of the photoconductor. A high image forming apparatus has become possible. <Embodiment 6> FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a charging member and a member to be charged according to the present invention. In FIG. 9, 101 is a magnetic brush layer of the contact charging member, which is made of magnetite powder having a particle size of 50 μm or less, and has a resistance of 1 × 10 ⁷ Ω · cm. The resistance of the magnetic brush layer is MΩ manufactured by HIOKI.
It was measured with a tester at an applied voltage of 500V. 10
Reference numeral 2 denotes a multi-pole magnetic body (ferrite magnet) of the contact charging member, which has a magnetic line density of 1000 G at the magnetic pole position measured at a distance of 1 mm from the surface of the magnetic body 102. The contact charging member is formed by 101 and 102. 103 is a gap 10 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor.
8 is a spacer for regulating 8; 104 is a charged body such as a photoconductor;
Reference numeral 105 is a plate-like member that controls the thickness 107 of the magnetic brush layer, 106 is a nip width, 109 is a cylindrical protruding portion that is a part of the spacer 103 and is coaxial and concentric, and 110 is the rotation of the magnetic body 102. It is a member that connects the shaft and a point on the circumference of 109.

As the multi-pole magnetic body, a plastic magnet was formed into a roller shape having a diameter of 18 mm as described above. It is preferable that a plurality of magnetic poles exist within the nip width. In this example, a plurality of magnetic poles of 6 to 18 were set and manufactured.

For the brush layer, a mixture of a carrier such as magnetic iron oxide having a particle size of 5 to 35 μm and a magnetic powder having a small particle size of 1 to 5 μm, such as a magnet, was used as a charging carrier. The charge carrier may be the same component as a well-known carrier generally used for toner. The nip width before adjustment is 6
˜7 mm.

The spacer 103 has the same diameter as the photosensitive member,
A member 110 connected to one point on the circumference of the protruding portion 109 is arranged so as to be connected to the axis of the cylindrical multipole magnetic body 102, and the outer diameter of 109 and the diameter of the multipole magnetic body 102 are set. The gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be changed by changing the rotation period of the photoconductor, and the gap 108 can be changed in the longitudinal direction by changing the bunlas on both sides of the photoconductor in the longitudinal direction. it can. The shape of 109 need not be cylindrical,
The unevenness in the rotation direction of the photoconductor can be more finely adjusted by taking the shape corresponding to the unevenness in the rotation direction of the photoconductor. Thereby, the nip width 106 can be adjusted in the rotation direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

FIG. 33 shows a result obtained by preparing several types of charged bodies 104 such as photoconductors having different charging unevenness and examining whether or not the charging unevenness can be corrected by the above-described charging device.

As can be seen from FIG. 33, a member 110 having a spacer 103 having the same diameter as the photosensitive member and connected to one point on the circumference of the protruding portion 109 is connected to the axis of the cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 102. By arranging them in series and changing the outer diameter of 109 and the diameter of the multi-pole magnetic body 102, the gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoreceptor can be changed with the rotation cycle of the photoreceptor, and both ends in the photoreceptor longitudinal direction can be changed. By changing the balance of the parts, the gap 1
The charging device capable of adjusting the nip width 106 in the rotation direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor with a configuration in which 08 can be changed allows the charging unevenness with respect to the charging unevenness of the charged body having the charging unevenness in the rotating direction. It is also possible to reduce the unevenness of charging, and at the same time, it is possible to reduce the unevenness of charging of a charged body having a monotonous inclination in the longitudinal direction. A contact-type charging system that can handle a wide range of changes in image forming apparatus settings has become possible.

FIG. 18 shows an example of an image forming apparatus using this contact type charging system. Reference numeral 1001 denotes a photosensitive drum which is an image bearing member, and is a drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member which is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) in the clockwise direction of arrow A.

Reference numeral 1002 denotes a contact charging member using the above-mentioned charging carrier, and a brush layer 1002-consisting of a multipolar magnetic material 1002-2 and a charging carrier formed on the surface thereof.
It consists of 1. Further, for example, a copper tape or an aluminum tape (3M electrical tape 1181) may be applied so that the applied voltage after the brush layer 1002-1 is formed on the multipolar magnetic body 1002-2 is well applied to each part of the brush layer. , 1170) or the like, or a magnetically permeable conductive layer may be formed as described above.

The brush layer 1002-1 is composed of a charged carrier such as a magnetic ferrite, a magnetic mag, or a carrier of a magnetic toner as described above.

The resistance value of the brush layer of the charging member 1002 is 0.25 to 1 kV applied with a MΩ tester manufactured by HIOKI (manufacturer) for preventing pinholes in order to maintain good charging efficiency. Measured at 1
It is preferable to have a resistance of × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm. More preferably 1 × 10 ⁴ to 1 × 10 ⁸ Ω · cm
Is.

Image carrier 1001 and contact charging member 1002
The closest gap of 50 to 200 for the nip control.
It is preferable to stably set it in a range of 0 μm by a spacer (not shown) or the like, and more preferably 100 to 1000.
μm.

Here, the contact charging member 1002 is the above-mentioned member shown in FIG. 9, has the spacer 103 having the same diameter as the photosensitive member, and is a member connected to one point on the circumference of the protruding portion 109. 110, the cylindrical multipolar magnetic body 1
It is arranged so as to be connected to the axis of 02, and by changing the outer diameter of 109 and the diameter of the multipolar magnetic body 102,
The gap 108 between the contact charging member and the photoconductor can be changed according to the rotation period of the photoconductor, and the gap 108 can be changed in the longitudinal direction by changing the balance on both sides of the photoconductor in the longitudinal direction. It is possible to adjust 106 in the rotational direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor.

Since the nip of the magnetic brush layer on the charged body affects the charging efficiency, the potential of the charged body can be freely controlled by stably controlling the nip.

Reference numeral 1003 denotes a voltage application power source for the charging member. A DC voltage V _dc is applied by the power source 1003 to the brush layer 1002-1 made of the charge carrier of the charging member to rotate the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1001. The surface is uniformly charged.

Further, by irradiation with the image forming light beam 1005, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. This latent image is a development sleeve 10 coated with a developer.
After being visualized as a toner image by 06, it is transferred onto a transfer material 1007 through a transfer roller 1008. The transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1001 is removed from the photosensitive drum 1001 by the cleaning blade 1009. On the other hand, the transfer material 1007 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body after the toner image on the surface is fixed by a fixing device (not shown).

On the other hand, various photoconductors and charging members manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1 were set in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. FIG. 34 shows the result of examination as to whether image deletion and uneven density can be corrected.

As can be seen from FIG. 34, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV and the density of localized states is 1 × 10.
^{Since it is 14} to 1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 , the temperature characteristics, the memory, etc. are improved, and at the same time, the spacer 1 having the same diameter as the photoconductor is used.
03, and the member 110 connected to one point on the circumference of the protruding member 109 is connected to the cylindrical multipole magnetic body 10
It is arranged so as to be connected to the shaft of No. 2 and changes the outer diameter of the protrusion member 109 and the diameter of the multi-pole magnetic body 102, so that the gap 1 between the contact charging member and the photoreceptor is changed in the rotation cycle of the photoreceptor.
08 can be changed, and by changing the balance on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor, the gap 1 can be set even in the longitudinal direction.
The nip of the magnetic brush layer having a resistance of 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · cm can be adjusted by changing the value of 08 and the nip width 106 in the rotational direction and the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor. With the charging device that can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction and the rotation direction of the photoconductor, it is possible to reduce the density unevenness of the charged body having the charge unevenness, and it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with high total quality. <Comparative Example> The same experiment as in Examples 1 to 6 was performed without using the charging device having no charging unevenness correction mechanism. The results are shown in the items before adjustment in FIGS. 22 and 24 to 34.

As can be seen, the characteristic energy of the exponential tail obtained from the sub-bandgap optical absorption spectrum is 50 to 60 meV, and the localized density of states is 1 × 10 ^14.
Since it is ^-1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-3 , the silicon-based photosensitive member having improved temperature characteristics, memory and the like has uneven charging and uneven density due to the uneven charging. <Example 7> An aluminum cylinder having an outer diameter of 80 mm and a length of 358 mm is used as a substrate, and a 5% methanol solution of alkoxymethylated nylon is applied thereto by a dipping method,
An undercoat layer (intermediate layer) having a film thickness of 1 μm was provided.

Next, 10 parts of the titanyl phthalocyanine pigment (superimposed part, the same applies hereinafter), 8 parts of polyvinyl butyral, and 50 parts of cyclohexanone were mixed and dispersed for 20 hours in a sand mill using 100 parts of glass beads having a diameter of 1 mm. Methyl ethyl Kenton 70-120 was added to this dispersion.
(Appropriately) parts are added and coated on the undercoat layer, and the mixture is applied at
It was dried for a minute to form a 0.2 μm charge generation layer.

Next, 10 parts of the styryl compound having the structural formula shown in FIG. 21 and 10 parts of bisphenol Z type polycarbonate were dissolved in 65 parts of monochlorobenzene on the charge generation layer. This solution was applied onto a substrate by a dipping method and dried with hot air at 120 ° C. for 60 minutes to form a 20 μm thick charge transport layer.

Next, a surface layer having a film thickness of 1.0 μm was provided on the charge transport layer by the following method.

High melting point polyethylene terephthalate (A) obtained by using terephthalic acid as the acid component and ethylene glycol as the glycol component [intrinsic viscosity of 0.
70 dl / g, melting point 258 ° C (1 using a differential calorimeter)
The measurement was performed at a heating rate of 0 ° C./min. Also, the measurement sample is 5 mg, and the polyester resin to be measured is 2
After melting at 80 ° C., it was rapidly cooled with ice water at 0 ° C.), glass point transfer temperature 70 ° C.] 100 parts and epoxy resin (B)
[Epoxy equivalent 160: aromatic ester type: trade name: Epicoat 190P (produced by Yuka Shell Epoxy Co., Ltd.)]
30 parts with phenol and tetrachloroethane (1: 1)
The mixture was dissolved in 100 ml. Further, 60 wt% of SnO ₂ powder was mixed as charge holding particles during the above-mentioned dissolution.
Next, 3 parts of triphenylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate (C) was added as a photopolymerization initiator to prepare a resin composition solution.

As the light irradiation conditions, a 2 kW high pressure mercury lamp (30 W / cm) was irradiated from 8 cm at 130 ° C. for 8 seconds from a position 20 cm apart to cure the light.

The photosensitive drum thus manufactured was subjected to the same experiment as in Example 3 in the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. The evaluation results are shown in FIG.

As can be seen from FIG. 35, the organic photoconductor has a problem in durability, but the other items are not at a problematic level. Although there is essentially no problem with unevenness, with respect to the photoconductors B and C in the figure, coating unevenness was intentionally created for the purpose of experiment, but it could be improved to a level without problems by using the charging device of the present invention. . <Embodiment 8> An aluminum cylinder (support) which has been mirror-finished in the same manner as in Embodiment 1 using the apparatus for manufacturing a photoreceptor for an image forming apparatus by the VHF-PCVD method shown in FIG.
Under the conditions shown in FIG. 36, a photoconductor including a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer and a surface layer was prepared.

Further, various photoconductors were prepared by changing the mixing ratio of SiH ₄ and H _{2 in the} photoconductive layer, the discharge power, the support temperature and the internal pressure. Image forming device with the photoconductor manufactured (Canon NP6060 is modified for testing)
Then, the temperature dependence of charging ability (temperature characteristic), blank exposure memory and ghost memory were evaluated. The temperature characteristics and the evaluation of the memory were the same as in Example 1.
Further, the density unevenness (roughness) of the halftone image was evaluated by classifying it into four ranks like the memory.

On the other hand, a glass substrate (Corning Co. 7
059) and a- with a film thickness of about 1 μm on the Si wafer.
A Si film was deposited. A comb photoconductor electrode of A is vapor-deposited on the deposited film on the glass substrate, the characteristic energy (Eu) of the exponential tail and the local level density (DOS) are measured by CPM, and the result is measured on the Si wafer. The amount of hydrogen contained in the deposited film of No. 1 and the absorption peak intensity ratio of Si—H ₂ bond and Si—H bond were measured by FTIR. Eu, D.I. O. The results regarding the relationship between S and temperature characteristics, memory, image deletion, and charge unevenness are the same as in Example 1, and E for good electrophotographic characteristics.
u = 60 meV, D.I. O. S = 1 × 10 ¹⁴ to 1 × 10 ¹⁶
It has been found necessary to be cm ^-3 . further,
From the relationship between the Si-H ₂ / Si-H and coarseness shown in FIG. 15, it was found necessary in the range of Si-H ₂ /Si-H=0.2~0.5.

[0337]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By making the nip (contact width in the rotation direction) at the contact portion between the magnetic brush of the contact charging member and the photosensitive member adjustable, a contact charging member capable of correcting uneven charging can be obtained, and at the same time, by the new photosensitive member. It has been possible to realize a totally excellent image forming apparatus that has both improved temperature characteristics and electrical characteristics and that does not have a high-humidity image flow due to the adoption of an ozoneless charging device.

Specifically, it has a plate-like member that regulates the thickness of the magnetic brush, has a structure in which the nip can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction of the photoconductor, and has a spacer that regulates the gap between the charging member and the photoconductor. With regard to the combination of a novel photoconductor having improved temperature characteristics and electrical characteristics and an ozoneless charging device, the nip can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction and / or the rotation direction of the photoconductor. It became possible to correct the weak point of uneven charging, and it was possible to realize a totally excellent image forming apparatus.

Secondly, in the production of the photosensitive member, the regulation on the uneven charging can be relaxed and the prescriptive latitude is widened, so that the electrophotographic characteristics can be further improved.

Thirdly, by combining a novel photoconductor having improved temperature characteristics and electric characteristics with an ozoneless charger, high image quality without high-humidity image flow can be maintained, electricity can be saved at night without energization. Became possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a charging device according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the charging device according to the first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a charging device according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating a charging device according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a charging device according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating a charging device according to a third exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view illustrating a charging device according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view and a side view showing a charging device according to a fifth embodiment.

9A and 9B are a front view and a side view showing a charging device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of an example of an apparatus for forming a light receiving layer of a photoconductor, which is an apparatus for producing a photoconductor by a glow discharge method using a high frequency in an RF band.

FIG. 11 is an example of a device for forming a light receiving layer of a photoconductor, which is a schematic explanatory view of a photoconductor manufacturing device by a glow discharge method using a VHF band high frequency.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the characteristic energy (Eu) of the back-back tail of the photoconductive layer of the photoconductor and the temperature characteristic.

FIG. 13: Localized density of states (DOS) of photoconductive layer of photoconductor
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the optical memory and the optical memory.

FIG. 14: Localized density of states (DOS) of photoconductive layer of photoconductor
The figure which shows the relationship between the image flow.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a relationship between an absorption peak intensity ratio of Si—H ₂ bonds and Si—H bonds of a photoconductive layer in a photoconductor and halftone density unevenness (roughness).

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing a main part of a conventional charging device and image forming apparatus.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a charging device and an image forming apparatus using a conventional magnetic brush.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

19A to 19E are schematic diagrams for explaining the layer structure of different photoconductors.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the relationship between the resistance of the brush layer of the charging member and the charged state.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a structural formula of a material used for a photoconductor.

22A and 22B are diagrams showing uneven charging of a body to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 1. FIG.

FIG. 23 is a view showing the manufacturing conditions of the photoconductor in Example 1.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of the photoconductor in Example 1.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing uneven charging of an object to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 2.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of the photoconductor in Example 2.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing uneven charging of an object to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 3.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of the photoconductor in Example 3.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing uneven charging of an object to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 4.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of the photoconductor in Example 4.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing uneven charging of a member to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 5.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of the photoconductor in Example 5.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing uneven charging of an object to be charged by the photoconductor of Example 6.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a correction state of density unevenness of a photoconductor according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing evaluation of the photosensitive drum of Example 7.

FIG. 36 is a view showing the manufacturing conditions of the photoconductor in Example 8.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 101 magnetic powder (magnetic brush layer) 102 multi-pole magnetic body (magnet roller) 103 spacer 104 charged body (image carrier, photoconductor, photosensitive drum) 105 layer thickness regulating member (plate member) 106 nip width 107 magnetic Thickness of brush layer 108 Gap between charging member and photoconductor 109 Projection part 1001 Charged member (image bearing member, photoconductor, photosensitive drum) 1002 Contact charging member 1002-1 Magnetic brush layer 1002-2 Multipolar magnetism Body 1003 High-voltage power supply 1005 Exposure means (laser beam printer light) 1006 Developing means (developing sleeve) 1007 Transfer material 1008 Transfer means (transfer roller) 1009 Cleaning blade 1100 Photoconductor 1101 Support 1102 Photosensitive layer 1103 Photoconductive layer 1104 Surface layer 1104 Free surface 1105 Charge injection blocking layer 1106 Charge Generation Layer 1107 Charge Transport Layer

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A charging device for charging a surface to be charged by applying a voltage to a charging member in contact with the surface to be charged of a body to be charged, wherein a cylindrical multi-pole having a plurality of magnetic poles in a circumferential direction. The charging member having a magnetic body and a magnetic powder carried on the surface of the multipolar magnetic body, a spacer for regulating a gap between the surface to be charged and the multipole magnetic body, and the magnetic powder An adjusting mechanism that adjusts an area of a strip-shaped nip formed in contact with the surface to be charged, the charging device. 2. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein an interval between magnetic poles adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction in the multipolar magnetic body is set to be smaller than a nip width in the circumferential direction of the nip. 3. The charging device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting mechanism regulates a layer thickness of the magnetic powder carried by the multipolar magnetic body. 4. The charging device according to claim 3, wherein the adjusting mechanism includes a plate-like member that contacts the magnetic powder on the multipolar magnetic body to regulate the layer thickness. 5. The charging device according to claim 3, wherein the adjusting mechanism is a mechanism that adjusts a gap between the surface to be charged and the multipolar magnetic body. 6. The charging device according to claim 5, wherein the charged body is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the adjusting mechanism adjusts the gap at a rotation cycle of the charged body. 7. A charged body having a charged surface, the charging device according to claim 1, and an exposure unit that exposes the charged surface to form an electrostatic latent image. An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing unit that forms a toner image by attaching a developer to an electrostatic latent image; and a transfer unit that transfers a toner image on a surface to be charged onto a transfer material. 8. The charged body holds a conductive support, a photoconductive layer containing a non-single crystal material containing a silicon atom as a base material and at least one of a hydrogen atom and a halogen atom, and a charge. A photoreceptive layer having a surface layer having a function, wherein the photoconductive layer contains 10 to 30 atom% of hydrogen, and at least in a portion where light is incident, an exponential function tail obtained from a subband gap light absorption spectrum. Has a characteristic energy of 50 to 60 meV and a localized density of states of 1 × 10 ¹⁴
˜1 × 10 ¹⁶ cm ⁻³ , and the electric resistance value of the surface layer is 1 × 10 ^{10 to} 5 × 10 ¹⁵ Ω ·
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is cm.