JPH096131A - Method of developing non-magnetic one-component developer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Modified) [Purpose] In the non-contact non-magnetic one-component developer developing method, a uniform developer layer is obtained on the developing roller, and
The developer can be continuously and stably supplied to the layer forming portion, and even a developer having a small particle size is free from scattering and fog, and has sufficient developability. [Structure] A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller 5, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller 5 by a layer regulating member 4a, and an electric charge is applied to the photosensitive drum 1. And non-magnetic one-component developing in which the non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by a potential difference between the developing roller 5 and the non-contact developing on the photosensitive drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transfer to the transfer material. In the method, the layer regulating member 4a is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, and the fixing portion 4b of the layer regulating member 4a is provided with a back pressure member 8 for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device. The contact angle between the tangent to the developing roller 5 at the contact portion between the layer regulating member 4a and the developing roller 5 and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member 4a is 90 ± 1.
It is characterized in that it is set to 0 °.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

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

The developing method of a non-magnetic one-component developer includes a contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method in which a developing roller carrying the developer is brought into contact with a photoreceptor having an electrostatic latent image for development.
There is a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method in which a constant air gap is provided between a developing roller and a photoconductor to cause the toner on the developing roller to fly and develop. In the contact-type non-magnetic one-component developing method, the toner on the developing roller and the photoconductor having the electrostatic latent image come into contact with each other, so that the developability is good, but on the other hand, the toner is not only used in the developing device, There is also friction with the photoconductor, which increases the mechanical load on the toner. On the other hand, in the non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method, the developer is triboelectrically charged only by the charging member, so that the mechanical load on the developer is small, but in any method, the toner is not stored in the developing device. The mechanical stress received is large, and fusion with the layer regulation member or the like often becomes a problem. Further, in the case of the non-contact type, the developing property is generally inferior to that of the contact type because a void is interposed during the development. Particularly when the toner has a small particle diameter of several μm, it is difficult to obtain good developability.

In the non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developing method,
As one of the means for improving the developability, it is considered to increase the amount of toner supplied to the developing roller. Generally, the smaller the particle size, the lower the fluidity of the toner.
Especially when a small particle diameter toner of several μm is used, it is an important subject to secure a sufficient toner conveyance amount. In order to solve this problem, in the developing device, a toner replenishing means by rotation of a sponge roller, a fur brush roller or the like is used, and as a more important elemental technique,
The pressing force of the layer regulating member against the developing roller, the contact angle, and the like are included. That is, in order to improve the inflow of toner into the contact portion between the layer regulating member on which the toner layer is formed and the surface of the developing roller, an appropriate contact angle is provided, and at the same time, the pressing force of the layer regulating member is lowered, It suffices to increase the amount of toner conveyed in the direction. However, when the amount of toner conveyed increases, the frequency of contact between the toner and the surface of the layer regulating member and the developing roller decreases, and the toner is insufficiently charged, and problems such as capping and scattering easily occur.

On the other hand, as the toner, under the above-mentioned low pressure, even if the frequency of contact between the toner and the layer regulating member and the developing roller decreases, the chargeability is good, and problems such as fog and scattering occur. Is required to occur. Further, in order to improve the image quality, when a small particle diameter toner having an average particle diameter of several μm is used, the specific surface area of the toner becomes large, so that the contact frequency between the toner and the above member is further reduced. The above problems become even more prominent.
Further, when the toner has a small particle size, it becomes difficult to obtain good fluidity as described above, and therefore it is necessary to optimize the contact angle in order to improve the flow of the toner into the layer forming portion. Become. The toner conveyed by the developing roller or the like to the layer forming portion formed by the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller is dammed by the layer forming member, and a part of the toner is layered and supplied to the developing portion, but the rest. Most of the toner circulates in the developing device until it is ready for development. If the circulation is not properly controlled, the toner is not sufficiently fed to the layer forming portion, and especially when the black ratio of the original is high, the developing amount of the toner is insufficient and the image is blurred. The second image of the developing roller may cause an afterimage generated by the first image development). Therefore, in order to obtain sufficient characteristics as a process, it is necessary to consider both the device and the toner.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a uniform toner layer on a developing sleeve in a non-contact non-magnetic one-component developer developing method,
Even with toner of small particle size, scattering, fog, memory, etc. do not occur, and even in the case of originals with high black ratio such as solid black, image blur does not occur, and sufficient developability can be obtained It is to provide a developing method.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present inventors have solved the drawbacks of the developing method of a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as a developer), and the developer has a small particle size. However, as a result of diligent studies on obtaining good developability, a specific layer regulating member and its contact method are used, and a back pressure member is used for a fixing portion of the layer regulating member, It is possible to provide a developing method of a non-magnetic one-component developer having a sufficient developing property that a uniform developer layer can be obtained on a target developing roller, fogging and scattering does not occur even with a small particle size. They have found the present invention and completed the present invention.

That is, in the first developing method of the present invention, the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by the layer regulating member. , Non-contact developing the non-magnetic one-component developer by the electric potential difference between the photo conductor drum and the developing roller, non-contact developing on the photo conductor drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transferring to the transfer material Type non-magnetic one-component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, the free end is located on the developing roller rotation direction side, and the layer regulating member is fixed. A back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing unit, and
Contact angle θ formed by the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member
Of 90 ± 10 ° is a method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer.

In the second developing method of the present invention, the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the developing roller so that the Young's modulus is 120.
A thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member of kgf / cm ² or less, and an electric charge is given to the non-magnetic one-component developer due to the potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. And a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer for performing non-contact development on a photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image and then transferring to a transfer material, wherein the layer regulating member is a developing device. Is cantilevered with respect to, the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller, the fixed portion of the layer regulating member is provided with a back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device, and In the method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer, the contact angle θ formed by the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 °. is there.

Furthermore, in the third developing method of the present invention, the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by the layer regulating member. At the same time, by applying an electric charge, the non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by the potential difference between the photoconductor drum and the developing roller, the photoconductor drum holding the electrostatic latent image is developed in a non-contact manner, and then transferred to the transfer material. A method of developing a contact type non-magnetic one-component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to a developing device, and a free end is located on a rotation advancing direction side of a developing roller. The fixed portion is provided with a back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device, and
Contact angle θ formed by the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member
Is 90 ± 10 °, and the load of the layer regulating member on the developing roller is 10 to 150 g / cm in line pressure, which is a method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer.

Furthermore, the fourth developing method of the present invention is
The non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the developing roller, and is supplied to the thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer and the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member, and at the same time, an electric charge is given to the non-magnetic one-component developer by the potential difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. A method for developing a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer in which a magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly, non-contact development is performed on a photosensitive drum holding an electrostatic latent image, and then transfer is performed on a transfer material. The layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller, and the fixed portion of the layer regulating member is a back for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device. And a shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing roller is 0.5 to 20.
mm, the contact angle θ between the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 °, and the layer regulating member with respect to the developing roller. Load is 10 at linear pressure
The method for developing a non-magnetic single component is characterized in that it is about 150 g / cm.

The present invention will be described in detail below. A typical example of the non-magnetic one-component developer used in the present invention contains a binder resin, a colorant and a charge control agent, and as a suitable example of the charge control agent, a polymer type charge control agent ( The addition of at least one of A) and the pigment-type charge control agent (B) may be mentioned. (A) a graft polymer (C1) having a polystyrene-based main chain in which 50 mol% or more is styrene, and a graft chain having a skeleton represented by the following general formula (1), and the following general formula (2) A mixture consisting of the indicated polymer (C2). (B) A compound represented by the following general formula (3).

[0013]

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

[0014]

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

[0015]

Embedded image (In the formula, R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ and R ₄ are each independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 22 carbon atoms, and 6 to 6 carbon atoms.
It represents 20 unsubstituted or substituted aromatic groups or aralkyl groups having 7 to 20 carbon atoms, and A ⁻ represents molybdate anion, tungstate anion, molybdenum or a heteropolyacid anion containing a tungsten atom. As the binder resin, in addition to those conventionally used for powder toners for electrophotography, all those which could not be used in view of charge controllability can be used. For example, polystyrene, polyester, ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer, ethylene-
Examples thereof include, but are not limited to, vinyl acetate copolymer, polyamide, polyethylene, maleic acid resin, xylene resin and phenol resin.

Any known colorant may be used as the colorant. For example, black colorants such as carbon black, acetylene black, lamp black, channel black, and aniline black, or chromatic colors such as fernal blue, permanent blue, nigrosine blue, phthalocyanine cyan color pigment, rose bengal, xanthene magenta. Examples thereof include, but are not limited to, color dyes, quinacridone-based magenta color pigments, monoazo-based red pigments, and disazo-based yellow pigments. These coloring agents are used in the binder resin 10
It is appropriately mixed in the range of 1 to 20 parts by weight with respect to 0 parts by weight.

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

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

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

In the present invention, it is desirable to use a rubber blade as the layer regulating member 4a. In the conventional non-magnetic one-component developing method, there is an example in which a metal blade is used as the layer regulating member, but when a metal blade is used, even if the same pressure is applied, the layer regulating member and the developing roller are locally melted. Wearing is easy to occur. It was confirmed that such local fusion of the developer hardly occurs when the rubber blade is used. Further, among the rubber blades, a low elastic rubber blade having a low Young's modulus sometimes did not cause fusion. The cause of this is not necessarily clear, but when a roughened developing roller is used, when the convex portion of the developing roller surface and the layer regulating member come into contact with each other, in the case of a metal blade, the local shearing force is rubber. It is estimated to be stronger than that of the blade. In the case of a metal blade, when the developer passes through such a high stress portion, the particles of the developer are highly stressed, and thus it is considered that fusion is likely to occur.

On the other hand, among the rubber blades, those of low elasticity have good followability to the irregularities on the surface of the developing roller, and the stress difference between the concave portions and the convex portions is small. It is presumed that the stress becomes uniform and fusion is unlikely to occur. Therefore, the present invention, particularly using a low elastic rubber blade, about the means for improving the developability in the non-magnetic one-component developing method of the developer having a small particle diameter, which is a problem of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, It was obtained as a result of diligent studies, and the details will be described below.

In the present invention, the method of fixing the layer regulating member to the developing device is cantilever fixing, and it is necessary that the free end is located in the direction of rotation (with) of the developing roller. Under the same pressure, it was found that the developer layer formed in the width was thick and uniform in comparison with the case where the free end was positioned in the direction opposite to the rotation advancing direction (counter). That is, in the case of a counter, the developer layer was uniform, but the upper limit of the developer layer thickness was about 20 μm, which was insufficient to obtain a sufficient image density. Also,
In the range where the pressure is low, the layer regulation member is likely to vibrate,
The developer layer may be non-uniform, and the layer regulating member may be rolled up in the rotation direction of the developing roller. Further, in the case of the counter, under the condition that the edge portion at the free end is in contact with the developing roller, the developer is pushed back by the edge portion, and the developer layer thickness may be extremely thin, about 10 μm. On the other hand, in the case of WITH, the developer layer was uniform even under low pressure, and the layer thickness of about 30 to 60 μm was obtained. As a result, it was found that the amount of developer supplied to obtain a sufficient image density can be secured. Also, there was no vibration seen at the counter. Further, in the case of the with, the contact between the layer regulation member and the developing roller is either the edge portion or the abdomen, the developer layer formation is good,
There was no problem at all.

The layer control member of the non-magnetic one-component developing system may be a counter in general, but in the present invention, since the rubber blade having a relatively low elasticity is used, the layer control member is developed in the counter. It is presumed that so-called stick-slip behavior is likely to be exhibited to the roller, and the above-mentioned vibration phenomenon is likely to occur. On the other hand, with Wiz, it is presumed that vibration is unlikely to occur because the developing roller has a free end in the rotation direction and the layer regulating member slides stably. Further, in the case of a counter, it is considered that the rotational force of the developing roller acts on the layer regulating member and a torque acts in the developing roller direction. As a result, it is presumed that when the developing roller was rotated, a higher pressure was applied than the set pressure when the developing roller was not rotated, which contributed to the thin layer thickness.

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

As described above, it is considered that the contact angle is directly related to the pressing, and as a result, it has a great influence on the charge amount of the developer and the transport amount. That is, when the pressure is high, it is difficult for the developer to flow out from the layer forming portion, and the amount of the developer conveyed is reduced. On the other hand, when the pressure is low,
The developer transport amount increases. However, in the above example, it is considered that the two causes, the pressing force and the contact angle, are combined to influence the developer transport amount. Therefore, the relationship between the contact angle and the amount of developer conveyed was examined under a constant pressing condition. When the contact angle was small, the contact angle was about 20 to 40 μm and the contact angle was large even with the same pressing force. About 1 / compared
It was 2 and it was found that the amount of developer conveyed was small. The reason for this is not necessarily clear, but when the contact angle is small, the developer does not flow easily into the layer forming portion, and conversely, when the contact angle is large, the developer flows into the layer forming portion. Is smooth and suggests that the supply of the developer for forming the developer layer is sufficient. According to the studies by the present inventors, the above tendency is remarkable when the developer has a small particle size, and in the case of a developer having a volume average particle size of several μm, the developer supplyability to the layer forming portion is considered. The contact angle θ of the layer regulating member is substantially perpendicular to the developing roller, that is, 9
It is an essential requirement that it is 0 ± 10 °. In addition, in the above-described experiment in which the contact angle was reduced with a constant pressing force, the thickness of the layer regulating member of the present invention in the plate thickness direction was increased to increase the bending force. Therefore, influences such as the friction coefficient of the layer regulating member such as a rubber blade on the material and surface properties are neglected.

Next, in terms of the physical properties of the layer regulating member, other factors related to the pressing are the material and the amount of displacement of the layer regulating member. That is, regarding the material, due to the difference in the repulsive force with respect to the bending force, the above-mentioned suitable contact angle is 9
Even at 0 ± 10 °, if the bending force is too strong, the pressing force becomes excessive and the developer supply amount becomes insufficient. Also,
On the contrary, when the bending force is too weak, the pressure is too low and the layer formation becomes non-uniform. On the other hand, if the displacement amount is small, the pressing force is too weak, and if the displacement amount is large, the pressing force is too strong, and the same problems as described above occur. In this way, the material,
Both the amount of displacement and the amount of displacement are problems that result in pressing. In the present invention, the pressing aptitude value is 10 to 150 g / cm, preferably 15 to 120 g / cm, and the amount of displacement is the bottom of the fixing member 4b of the layer regulating member (blade) as a condition for satisfying this range. And the maximum distance M to the back of the layer regulating member 4a in the fixed surface direction, M is 0.5 to
When the thickness is 3.0 mm, a blade material satisfying the above pressing range can be used. Rubber blades made of various materials can be used as long as they satisfy the above characteristics, and specific examples thereof include silicone rubber and urethane rubber.

Next, the back pressure member which is another constituent factor of the present invention will be described. According to the studies by the present inventors, as described above, the pressing of the layer regulating member, the contact angle, and the like are important factors in forming the developer layer itself. However, regarding the feeding of the developer to the layer forming portion, it was found that the control of the circulating state of the developer in the developing device is a very important factor, and the present invention was obtained. That is, the developer conveyed to the layer forming section in the developing device is partially formed into a layer and conveyed to the developing section, but most of the remaining is along the surface of the layer regulating member in the layer regulating member fixing member direction. And is circulated into the developing device. When there is no back pressure member, in the vicinity of the layer forming portion, only the shearing force applied to the developer by the rotation of the developing roller in the developing roller rotation direction is provided for transporting the developer. The carrying force in this case is very small,
Even if a good developer layer is formed, for example, in the case of a full black solid image having a high black ratio of the original, the supply of the developer is hindered, and in the case of developing a black solid image, the developing roller 1 is used. After the cycle, blurring may occur due to insufficient development amount of the developer. Therefore, the circulatory flow of the developer is controlled by stopping it with a back pressure member, and the back pressure of the circulative developer applied to the layer forming section is increased by the reaction force acting on the developer from the back pressure member to enhance the transportability of the developer. Can be significantly improved. As a result, it was found that even a manuscript with a high black ratio such as a solid black image does not cause any blur. It was also found that the use of this back pressure member does not cause any problems such as memory.

As described above, the purpose of installing the back pressure member is to increase the powder pressure of the developer to the layer forming portion by utilizing the circulation of the developer in the developing device, thereby developing the developer. It is to improve the supply capacity in the direction of the department. Therefore, as long as such a purpose can be achieved, the bottom surface as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is not limited to a flat surface, and a curved surface can be used. According to the studies by the present inventors, the shortest distance between the surface of the developing roller and the bottom of the back pressure member is the most important factor in determining the above-mentioned function as the back pressure member. That is, when the circulation control width Z is smaller than 0.5 mm, it is impossible to form a good layer in which the flow of the developer toward the layer forming portion is not stopped. On the other hand, when it is 20 mm or more, the reaction against the circulation of the developer is hard to work, the powder pressure is not increased, and the above effects cannot be expected.

[0029]

In the non-contact developing method using the non-magnetic one-component developer, in order to stably obtain a good image, it is necessary that the developer is not fused to the layer regulating member (blade). Is. In addition, the amount of developer conveyed to obtain a sufficient amount of development is ensured, and even if the volume average particle diameter of the developer is a small particle diameter of several μm, it is uniform with respect to the particles of each developer. It is necessary to have a developing device mechanism capable of sufficiently imparting charge. Since the rubber blade used as the layer regulating member in the present invention has low elasticity, it has good followability to minute irregularities on the surface of the developing roller, and since the stress difference between the concave portion and the convex portion is small, Mechanical stress on the agent is reduced, and fusion is less likely to occur. Further, due to the above-mentioned problem of fusion, when a rubber blade having a low elasticity is used, the method of contacting with the developing roller is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, and one free end of the developing roller is the developing roller. Positioning (with) on the rotation advancing direction side suppressed generation of vibrations and the like, and stable sliding was obtained. As a result, a uniform developer layer was obtained. In the abutting method of the width, the abutting angle is set to 90 ± 10 °, and the maximum distance M between the bottom of the fixing member of the layer regulating member and the back of the layer regulating member in the fixing surface direction of the layer regulating member (pushing in) 0.5)
By setting the pressure to 3.0 mm and adjusting the pressure of 10 to 150 g / cm, that is, the linear pressure as a load of the layer regulating member on the developing roller, no fusion occurs and a developer having a small particle size is used. While the uniform developer layer and the sufficient transport amount of the developer were obtained, the developer could be uniformly and sufficiently charged, and good developability could be obtained. Further, in the present invention, by installing a back pressure member on the fixing member of the layer regulating member, it is possible to control the circulation of the developer and increase the powder pressure of the developer toward the layer forming portion, which is favorable. It is possible to obtain the developer supply property, and even when the black ratio is high such as a black solid original document, good development can be obtained without causing blur due to insufficient development amount. In addition, this method also eliminated problems such as memory.

Further, in the non-contact developing method using a non-magnetic one-component developer, in order to improve the flight developing property,
It is necessary to keep the charge amount of the developer low. However, if the charge amount is too low, problems such as fogging and scattering of the developer tend to occur. Therefore, the charge amount of the developer is relatively low, and the charge amount of each developer particle shows an approximate value, and the width of the charge amount distribution needs to be narrow and sharp. further,
When the particle size of the developer is as small as several μm, the specific surface area of the developer becomes large, so that the frequency of contact between the developer and the layer regulating member and the developing roller becomes low, and it becomes difficult to uniformly charge the developer.

[0031]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a suitable developing device used in the method for developing a non-contact type non-magnetic one-component developer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a relationship between a layer regulating member and a developing roller. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the layer regulating member, the pressing amount, and the developing roller. Below, the common part of Examples 1-14 is demonstrated. With respect to the constituent members described in the embodiments, the dimensions, precision, shape, material, arrangement, etc., are not limited to the description examples unless otherwise specified, and are merely examples for description. .
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a photosensitive drum which is a cylindrical electrostatic latent image holding member, and the minimum distance between the developing roller and the developing roller 5 is set to 120 μm. The rotation direction of the photosensitive drum is defined by the direction of the arrow in the figure. The surface roughness of the developing roller of No. 5 is set to 0.5 to 15 μm in Rz, and Rmax is preferably set to 20 μm or less. The developing roller is made of aluminum or other non-magnetic metal material and rotates in the direction of the arrow.
Reference numeral 4a is a layer regulating member, and a low elastic rubber blade made of silicone rubber or urethane rubber having a Young's modulus of 120 kgf / cm ² or less is used. Reference numeral 4b is a fixing member for the layer regulating member, which is fixed to the second hopper. An angle formed by a tangent line between the fixing surface of the fixing member of 4b of the layer regulating member of 4a and the contact portion of the layer regulating member of 4a and the developing roller of 5 is 9
It is 0 ± 5 °, and the distance M (pushing amount) from the bottom of the layer regulating member 4b to the back of the layer regulating member in the fixing surface direction of the layer regulating member 4a is 0.5 to 3.0 mm. Adjust the mounting position, material, shape, accuracy, etc. of each member. 8 is a back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer, which is fixed to the blade fixing member. The shortest distance between the bottom surface of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface is adjusted to 0.5 to 20 mm. Reference numeral 6 denotes a developer leakage preventing and scraping member, which is made of a resin film such as a polyethylene terephthalate film or a non-woven fabric such as fluorofiber paper and is fixed to the hopper 2. The free end is in contact with the surface of the developing roller. The member of 6 is not limited to the function of preventing the leakage of the developer, but by appropriately selecting the material, it is possible to function as a member for imparting a charge to the developer or a member for removing a charge. The non-magnetic one-component developer (3) is put into the hopper (2) and is supplied to the contact portion (layer forming portion) between 4a and 5 by the agitator (7). The non-magnetic one-component developer is carried and conveyed by the layer regulating member 4a on the sleeve of the developing roller so as to have a constant layer thickness (40 to 80 μm). The sleeve of the developing roller is installed with a constant gap of 120 μm from the photoconductor drum, but an arbitrary interval of 90 to 150 μm can be selected as necessary. A DC voltage is basically applied to the sleeve, but an AC voltage may be applied if necessary. The developer carried by the developing roller 5 is
The electrostatic latent image is conveyed by the rotation of the developing roller, comes close to the photosensitive drum 1 having the electrostatic latent image, and is subjected to development to visualize the electrostatic latent image.

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

[Blending of developer T1] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ), carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.), charge control agent (A) 4 parts (graft polymer having a graft chain represented by Chemical Formula 4 below, and Polymer type charge control agent consisting of polymer C2 consisting of the following chemical formula 5) Charge control agent (B) 2 parts (pigment type charge controlling agent of the following chemical formula 6) Polypropylene wax 2 parts (SANYO KASEI KOGYO CO., LTD. Product name: Viscole 330P) Note: Each structural formula is as follows.

[0034]

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

[0035]

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

[0036]

[Chemical 6] <Example 1>Young's modulus: 110 kg as a layer regulating member
Using a low elasticity silicone rubber blade of f / cm ² ,
It was mounted on a developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle θ was 90 °. When the pushing amount is set to 1.5 mm, the linear pressure of the layer regulating member against the developing roller can be adjusted to about 70 g / cm, and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface is adjusted to 3 mm. A developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention was obtained. As the non-magnetic one-component developer, the developer (T1) described above was used.

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

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

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

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

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

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

<Embodiment 8> A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and the layer regulating member was mounted on the developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle θ was 95 °. Also,
When the pushing amount is set to 0.5 mm, the linear pressure is about 1
The developing device can be adjusted to 10 g / cm, and the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface was adjusted to 3 mm to obtain a developing device suitable for the developing method of the present invention. As the non-magnetic one-component developer, the developer (T1) described above was used.

<Embodiment 9> Next, a non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T2) used in Embodiment 9 of the present invention will be described. In the examples, “parts” means “parts by weight”. The raw materials were mixed in the following formulation, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.6 μm. Next, with respect to 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer, hydrophobic alumina (trade name: R manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.
Add 1.0 part of FY-C) and mix with a Henschel mixer to 2
By stirring for a minute, the non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 9 was obtained.

[Blending of Developer T2] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.) ・ Charge control agent (A) 4 parts (Graft polymer having a graft chain represented by the following Structural Formula 1 (C1) and a polymer type charge control agent comprising a polymer (C2) having the following structural formula 2): Polypropylene wax 2 parts (manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd .: trade name: Viscole 330P) ) And the developing device described in Example 1 in combination.

<Embodiment 10> Next, Embodiment 10 of the present invention.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T3) used for the above will be described. In the examples, “parts” means “parts by weight”. The raw materials were mixed in the following formulation, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.2 μm. Next, with respect to 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer, hydrophobic alumina (trade name of Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd .:
RFY-C) was added in an amount of 1.0 part, and the mixture was stirred with a Henschel mixer for 2 minutes to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 10.

[Blending of Developer T3] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-
Butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn:
2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Inc.) ・ Charge control agent (B) 2 parts (of the pigment type of the following chemical formula 7 Charge control agent) Polypropylene wax 2 parts (trade name: Viscole 330P, manufactured by Sanyo Kasei Co., Ltd.) Development was carried out by using the developer (T3) and the developing device described in Example 1 in combination.

[0048]

[Chemical 7] <Embodiment 11> Next, a non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T4) used in Embodiment 11 of the present invention will be described.
In the examples, “parts” means “parts by weight”. The raw materials were mixed in the following formulation, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.5 μm. Next, with respect to 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer, hydrophobic alumina (trade name: RFY-C manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd.)
1.0 part was added and stirred for 2 minutes with a Henschel mixer to obtain the non-magnetic one-component developer used in Example 11.

[Blending of developer T4] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-
Butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn:
2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) ・ Charge control agent (A) 6 parts (Graft chain consisting of the following chemical formula 8) Polymeric charge control agent comprising a graft polymer (C1) having the following and a polymer (C2) comprising the following Chemical Formula 9) Charge controlling agent (B) 2 parts (pigment type charge controlling agent of the following Chemical Formula 10) -Polypropylene wax 2 parts (manufactured by Sanyo Kasei Co., Ltd., trade name: Viscole 330P) Development was carried out by using the developer (T4) and the developing device described in Example 1 in combination.

[0050]

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[0051]

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[0052]

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

[Blending of Developer T5] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Inc.) ・ Charge control agent (A) 4 parts (Graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of the following chemical formula 11 ( C1) and a polymer type charge control agent comprising a polymer (C2) consisting of the following chemical formula 12) Charge control agent (B) 2 parts (pigment type charge controlling agent of the following chemical formula 13) Polypropylene wax 2 parts ( Sanyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. product name: Viscole 330P)

[0055]

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[0056]

[Chemical 12]

[0057]

Embedded image The development was carried out by combining the developer (T5) with the developing device described in Example 1.

<Embodiment 13> Next, an embodiment 13 of the present invention.
The non-magnetic one-component developer (hereinafter referred to as T6) used for the above will be described. In the examples, “parts” means “parts by weight”. The raw materials were mixed in the following formulation, melt-kneaded, and then pulverized and classified to obtain a non-magnetic one-component developer having a volume average particle diameter of 7.4 μm. Next, with respect to 100 parts of this non-magnetic one-component developer, hydrophobic alumina (trade name of Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd .:
RFY-C) and 0.7 parts of zinc oxide fine powder (Basttran Type II 2410 manufactured by Mitsui Kinzoku Co., Ltd.) were added at the same time, and the mixture was stirred for 2 minutes with a Henschel mixer. A magnetic one-component developer was used.

[Blending of Developer T6] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Inc.) ・ Charge control agent (A) 4 parts (Graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of the following Chemical Formula 14 and Polymer type charge control agent consisting of polymer (C2) consisting of the following chemical formula 15: Charge control agent (B) 2 parts (pigment type charge controlling agent of the following chemical formula 16) Polypropylene wax 2 parts (Sanyo Chemical Co., Ltd.) Kogyo Co., Ltd. product name: Viscole 330P)

[0060]

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[0061]

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[0062]

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

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

[Blending of Developer T7] 100 parts of styrene-acrylic copolymer resin (monomer composition: styrene / butyl acrylate / n-butyl methacrylate = 78/18/4, Mn: 2.9 × 10 ⁴ , Mw: 32.8 × 10 ⁴ ) ・ Carbon black 10 parts (trade name: MA-100 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Inc.) ・ Charge control agent (A) 4 parts (Graft polymer having a graft chain consisting of the following chemical formula 17 ( C1) and a polymer type charge control agent consisting of the polymer (C2) consisting of the following chemical formula 18) Charge control agent (B) 2 parts (pigment type charge controlling agent of the following chemical formula 19) Silicone-acrylic copolymer Polymerized resin 7 parts (Product name: SIMAC manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd.)

[0065]

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[0066]

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[0067]

Embedded image The development was carried out by combining the developer (T7) with the developing device described in Example 1.

<Embodiment 15> In Embodiment 15, the shortest distance between the bottom portion of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing sleeve is set to 1 mm, thereby forming Embodiment 15 of the present invention.

<Embodiment 16> In Embodiment 16, the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing sleeve is set to 15 mm, thereby forming Embodiment 16 of the present invention.

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

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

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

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

Comparative Example 5 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and the layer regulating member was mounted on the developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 90 °. When the pushing amount is set to 0.2 mm, the linear pressure is 160 g.
/ Cm, and the non-magnetic one-component developing device of the comparative example was used.
The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the developing sleeve surface is 3mm
And Further, development was performed using the developer (T1) described above.

Comparative Example 6 A low elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 110 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and the layer regulating member was mounted on the developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 90 °. When the pushing amount is set to 4.5 mm, the linear pressure is about 5 g /
cm, and the nonmagnetic one-component developing device of the comparative example was used. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing sleeve was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1) described above.

Comparative Example 7 A relatively high elastic silicone rubber blade having a Young's modulus of 190 kgf / cm ² was used as a layer regulating member, and the layer regulating member was mounted on the developing device corresponding to FIG. The contact method was with and the contact angle was 90 °.
When the pushing amount was set to 1.0 mm, the linear pressure was about 300 g / cm, and the non-magnetic one-component developing device of Comparative Example was used. The shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing sleeve was 3 mm. Further, development was performed using the developer (T1) described above.

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

<Comparative Example 9> The same procedure as in Example 1 was applied to a developing device of Comparative Example 2 and a developer having the same formulation as the developer (T1) of Example 1 and having a volume average particle diameter of 12.5 μm. Was developed in combination with the externally added developer (T1L).

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

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

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

With respect to the above examples and comparative examples of the non-magnetic one-component developing method, the characteristics were evaluated using a remodeling machine of a commercially available copying machine. The surface potential of the photoconductor drum is -700V.
And the developing bias was set to -100V. The surface of the developing roller was subjected to a surface roughening treatment by a sandblast method, and Rz was 2 μm and Rmax was 6 μm. All other dimensions relating to the developing device were the values described in Examples and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the contents of the developing device and the developer in the developing method of the example, the evaluation results at the initial stage of copying and after 5000 sheets, and the contents of the comparative example and the evaluation results in table 2. The evaluation method and evaluation criteria are as shown below. Initial fusion with the layer regulating member: The surface state of the layer regulating member was visually confirmed when 50 images were continuously picked up. After 5,000 sheets: The surface condition of the layer regulating member after 5,000 sheets were visually confirmed. Evaluation Criteria: ◯ indicates that no fusion has occurred. Δ indicates that fusion has occurred a little, and it is judged to be a level that affects the image. Toner Layer Uniformity Initially after 5000 sheets, the state of the toner layer formed on the surface of the developing roller was visually evaluated. Evaluation Criteria: ◯ indicates that the entire surface is uniform from the rear to the front and in the circumferential direction. Δ indicates a level at which slight unevenness occurs in the circumferential direction and influences the image. × indicates that unevenness or toner agglomeration occurs in both the circumferential direction and the rear-to-front direction, which greatly affects the image. Charge amount The charge amount of the toner layer formed on the developing sleeve was directly measured using a blow-off charge amount measuring device (manufactured by Toshiba Chemical Co.). The developing device and the Faraday gauge connection point of the blow-off charge amount measuring device are directly electrically connected, the counter charge when the toner layer is removed by suction is measured, and then the measured value of the amount of suction toner is used to measure the counter charge. The charge amount is obtained by dividing the measured value.

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

Solid Black Reproducibility The degree of blurring when a black solid image on the entire surface of the transfer paper was captured was visually determined. Evaluation Criteria A: A uniform black solid image was obtained without any blur. Δ: good black solid image was obtained up to the second revolution of the developing roller, but after that, blurring was observed, or less than 3 vertical streaks due to blade fusion, or due to poor layer formation When unevenness occurs, and when the density difference between the areas where unevenness occurs and does not occur is less than 0.05, a good solid black image was obtained from the first to the first revolution of the developing roller. After that, when there is a scrape, or when three or more vertical streaks due to blade fusion occur or unevenness due to poor layer formation occurs, and the density difference between the areas where unevenness is generated and where no unevenness is generated is 0. In the case of .05 or more, after the first revolution of the memory developing roller, the degree of appearance of the afterimage picked up in the first revolution was visually evaluated. A good image was obtained without any memory phenomenon. Δ: When a memory phenomenon occurs, but the density difference between the afterimage portion and the non-afterimage portion is less than 0.05 as measured by a Macbeth densitometer RD-914. X: When a memory phenomenon occurs and the density difference between the afterimage area and the non-afterimage area is 0.05 or more. In Tables 1 and 2, the Young's modulus of the rubber layer regulating member in the plate thickness direction was obtained by performing a compression test using a Tensilon type tester (UCT-500 manufactured by Orientec Co., Ltd.) and used as a reference value. presentation. As is apparent from Table 1, in the developing method according to Examples 1 to 16 according to the present invention, in the process of continuous copying of 5000 sheets from the initial stage of copying, no fusion of the developer to the surface of the layer regulating member occurred, and The uniformity of the developer layer on top was also good. Also, the image quality such as image density could be maintained in a good state.

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

Comparative Examples 2 to 4 show examples in which the contact angle is set outside the range of the present invention. In Comparative Example 2, the contact angle is 25.
Although it was as small as 0 °, unevenness in the circumferential direction of the developer layer occurred, and continuous imaging could not be performed in the initial evaluation. Next, in Comparative Example 3, the contact angle was 70 °, and although the layer formation was good, the charge amount was low and the fog was large. Also, the image density is low. In continuous imaging, scattering occurred and the test was stopped halfway up to 5000 sheets. Next, in Comparative Example 4, the contact angle was increased to 110 °, but the charge amount was slightly high and the image density was low. Further, after 5000 sheets, some fusion occurred on the layer regulating member. From the above, it is confirmed that the contact angle is favorable in the vicinity of 90 ± 5 ° which is the range of the present invention. In these Comparative Examples 2 to 4, the back pressure members are all within the scope of the present invention, but the setting conditions of the layer regulating member are outside the scope of the present invention, and disorder occurs in layer formation (Comparative Example 2).
In the case where fusion occurs to the layer regulating member after copying a large number of sheets (Comparative Example 4), reproduction of black solid or memory may occur.

Comparative Example 5 is an example in which the pressing amount is set to 0.2 mm and the pressing force is increased. In this case, especially 50
After 00 sheets, non-uniformity of the toner layer and deterioration of the image were observed. Further, Comparative Example 6 is an example in which the pressing amount was set to 4.5 mm and the pressing force was lowered, and in this case, the toner layer formation was defective. Further, as in Comparative Examples 3 and 4, even if the back pressure member is within the scope of the present invention, the setting of the layer regulating member is outside the scope of the present invention, and when the layer formation is defective or when the pressing Shows an example in which the back pressure member does not work effectively when too strong fusion occurs.

Comparative Example 7 shows an example in which the linear pressure applied to the layer regulating member is increased. In this case, the pressure was too high, and some fusion to the blade was recognized from the initial stage. Because fusion occurs,
The resulting vertical stripes appeared on the black solid image in the flow direction of the copy paper.

Comparative Example 8 shows an example in which the contact angle is reduced. In this case, fusion does not occur in the initial stage, but 5
After 000 sheets, some fusion was observed, and streaks were generated on the black solid. Further, the toner conveyance amount was small and a sufficient image density could not be obtained.

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

Comparative Example 10 shows the case where the position of the back pressure member is set to be equal to or lower than the lower limit, based on the structure of the developing device of Example 1. In this case, the setting itself of the layer regulating member was within the scope of the present invention, and although the image density, fog, and fine line reproduction were good, the position of the back pressure member was too low and the image density A decrease was observed. Comparative Example 11 shows an example in which the position of the back pressure member is above the upper limit, but the powder pressure of the developer by the back pressure member was not sufficient, and black solid reproduction and memory problems occurred. Comparative Example 12 is the case where there is no back pressure member, but the image density, fog, and fine line reproduction are good because the setting of the layer regulating member is within the range of the present invention, but there is no back pressure member and the developer does not exist. Due to the low powder pressure, the solid black reproduction and memory were poor. From the above, with the combination of the layer control member and the back pressure agent of the present invention, all of various image characteristics were simultaneously improved, and the significance of the developing method of the non-magnetic one-component developer of the present invention was clarified.

[0092]

[Table 1]

[0093]

[Table 2]

[0094]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention provides the layer regulating member as described above.
In the method of cantilevering and setting in the forward direction (with) with respect to the rotation direction of the developing roller, and in the method of contacting the developing roller almost perpendicularly, by using a developing device in which the pressure is adjusted to an appropriate range, It is possible to obtain a uniform developer layer, and by using a back pressure member, it is possible to continuously and stably supply the developer to the developing section, resulting in good solid black reproducibility and memory prevention effect. I was able to get

[Brief description of drawings]

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

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

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

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoconductor drum 2 Hopper 3 Developer 4a Layer regulating member 4b Fixing member 5 Developing roller 6 Leak prevention and scraping member 7 Stirrer

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiromi Totsuka 3-1, Somune-cho, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka Prefectural Tomoegawa Paper Mill Technical Research Institute Co., Ltd. No. 1 in the Tomoegawa Paper Mill Technical Research Institute (72) Inventor Akihiro Sano No. 3 Munebacho, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside the Tomagawa Paper Mill Technical Research Institute

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member, and an electric charge is applied.
The non-magnetic non-magnetic non-magnetic one component that causes the non-magnetic one-component developer to fly by the potential difference between the photo conductor drum and the developing roller, develops the non-contact one on the photo conductor drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transfers it to the transfer material. A method of developing a component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller, and the fixing portion of the layer regulating member is inside the developing device. A back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer, and the contact angle θ formed by the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 °. And a method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer. 2. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member having a Young's modulus of 120 kgf / cm ² or less. A non-contact type in which an electric charge is applied, the non-magnetic one-component developer is caused to fly by the potential difference between the photoconductor drum and the developing roller, the photoconductor drum holding an electrostatic latent image is developed in a non-contact manner, and then transferred to a transfer material. The method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer according to claim 1, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, and the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller. Is provided with a back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer in the developing device, and the contact angle θ formed by the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixed surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 ° Developing method of a non-magnetic one-component developing agent, characterized in that. 3. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member, and an electric charge is applied,
The non-magnetic non-magnetic non-magnetic one component that causes the non-magnetic one-component developer to fly by the potential difference between the photo conductor drum and the developing roller, develops the non-contact one on the photo conductor drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transfers it to the transfer material. A method of developing a component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller, and the fixing portion of the layer regulating member is inside the developing device. A back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer, and the contact angle θ between the tangent to the developing roller at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ± 10 °. And the load of the layer regulating member on the developing roller is 10 to 1 at the linear pressure.
A method for developing a non-magnetic one-component developer, which is characterized by having a weight of 50 g / cm. 4. A non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to a developing roller, and a thin layer of the non-magnetic one-component developer is supplied to the surface of the developing roller by a layer regulating member, and an electric charge is applied.
The non-magnetic non-magnetic non-magnetic one component that causes the non-magnetic one-component developer to fly by the potential difference between the photo conductor drum and the developing roller, develops the non-contact one on the photo conductor drum holding the electrostatic latent image, and then transfers it to the transfer material. A method of developing a component developer, wherein the layer regulating member is cantilevered with respect to the developing device, the free end is located on the rotation advancing direction side of the developing roller, and the fixing portion of the layer regulating member is inside the developing device. A back pressure member for controlling the circulation of the developer, the shortest distance between the bottom of the back pressure member and the surface of the developing roller is 0.5 to 20 mm, and the development at the contact portion between the layer regulating member and the developing roller. The contact angle θ between the tangent to the roller and the fixing surface of the layer regulating member is 90 ° ± 10 °, and the load of the layer regulating member on the developing roller is 10 to 150 g / cm in linear pressure. Non-magnetic single component development The method of development.