JP2006292894A - Method for manufacturing developer quantity regulating blade - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress image defects, such as stripes. surface irregularities, etc., due to a developer by relieving the nonuniformity of a developer thin film on a developer carrier occurring in the very small deformation of the developer carrier. <P>SOLUTION: The abutting surface of the blade member which is made to abut on the the developer carrier is processed in such a manner that the ten point average roughness (Rz) thereof attains 0.3 to 20 μm by using at least one kind of the process selected from the group consisting of processes; (1) a process of incorporating surface roughened particulates into the abutting surface; (2) a process of subjecting the abutting surface to blasting treatment by using the surface roughened particulates; (3) a process of subjecting the abutting surface to oscillation of sandpaper; (4) a process of pressing the abutting surface by a hot plate subjected to surface roughening; (5) a transfer process of transferring the surface transferred member subjected to the surface roughening to the abutting surface; (6) a process of performing molding by using a mold subjected to the surface roughening in at least the portion corresponding to the abutting surface; (7) a process of laminating a coating layer containing the surface roughened particulates on the abutting surface side of the plate member; and (8) a process of etching the abutting surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a charge control surface of a developer amount regulating blade for producing a developer amount regulating blade used in an electrophotographic apparatus for developing and visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier. The present invention relates to a processing method capable of controlling the shape (surface roughness) of (pressure contact surface pressed against a developer carrying member).

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional developing device. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional developer amount regulating blade. The developer 16 present in the developer container is supplied to the developer carrier 13 by the elastic roller 15. The developer carrier 13 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and supplies the developer 16 supplied from the elastic roller 15 to the electrophotographic photosensitive member 11. At this time, the developer amount regulating blade 14 is pressed against the developer carrier 13 so that the developer carrier 13 can supply a certain amount of developer 16 (FIG. 1). The developer amount regulating blade is composed of a support member 22 and a blade member 21 (FIG. 2).

  The developer amount regulating blade is generally formed from a rubber plate, a metallic thin plate, a resin plate, and a laminate thereof. The developer amount regulating blade is made of a blade member pressed against the developer carrier and a support member that supports the blade member at a predetermined position, and a pressure contact surface of the blade member that is pressed against the developer carrier is In addition, since it has a function of controlling the triboelectric charge of the developer, it is also called a charge control surface. In addition, the surface layer of the charge control surface may be referred to as a charge control layer.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a developer regulating blade that can be uniformly worn and can accurately control the contact pressure with respect to the developer carrying member to achieve an appropriate pressure on the toner particles.

  Conventionally, it has been considered that it is better to smooth the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade in order to uniformly charge and transport the developer. However, in recent years, the influence of the flatness of the charge control surface on the uniform charging and transport of the developer has been examined in detail. In order to achieve uniform charging and unloading of the developer, the charge control surface is somewhat smooth. I found that it was enough. On the contrary, when the developer carrying member is deformed minutely by the pressure contact of the developer amount regulating blade, and this deformation is not eliminated, it is rather roughened the charge control surface and the developer is more uniformly charged. It was found that unloading can be realized and image defects such as streaks and unevenness can be suppressed.

  The reason for this is that even if the developer thin film becomes non-uniform on the developer carrying member due to the fine deformation of the developer carrying member, the charge control surface is roughened in this part. This is thought to be because the unevenness of the developer thin film is alleviated.

  As a result, image defects such as streaks and unevenness due to the developer can be suppressed even if a minute deformation occurs in the developer carrying member due to the pressure contact of the developer amount regulating blade while the developing device is stopped.

However, the method for properly roughening the charge control surface as in the present invention and the roughened developer amount regulating blade have not been sufficiently disclosed, and the development of appropriate roughening means is desired. It was rare.
JP 2002-372856 A JP 2002-372858 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and a fine deformation due to the pressure contact of the developer amount regulating blade occurs in the developer carrying member, and the developer thin film is not uniform on the developer carrying member. An object of the present invention is to provide a developer amount regulating blade and a method for manufacturing the same that can alleviate the occurrence of image defects and suppress image defects such as streaks and unevenness due to the developer.

The problems of the present invention can be appropriately solved by the following constitution / means. That is, the present invention is a method for manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade that is pressed against a developer carrying member for carrying out a developer from a developer container and regulates the amount of the developer.
A pressure contact surface that is in pressure contact with the developer carrier of the blade member of the developer amount regulating blade, which has at least a support member and a blade member that is provided on the support member and is in pressure contact with the developer carrier. Development characterized in that a ten-point average roughness (Rz) is roughened to 0.3 to 20 μm using at least one process selected from the group consisting of 1) to (8). The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a dose regulating blade.
(1) a step of incorporating roughened fine particles into the pressure contact surface;
(2) A step of blasting the pressure contact surface using the roughened fine particles,
(3) Step of oscillating sandpaper against the pressure contact surface (4) Step of pressing the pressure contact surface with a roughened hot plate,
(5) a transfer step of transferring the roughened surface transfer member to the pressure contact surface;
(6) A step of molding using a mold having a roughened surface corresponding to at least the pressure contact surface,
(7) A step of laminating a coating layer containing roughened fine particles on the pressure contact surface side of the blade member,
(8) A step of etching the pressure contact surface.

The present invention also includes a blade member and a support member that are pressed against a developer carrier that carries the developer out of the developer container, and has a ten-point average of pressure contact surfaces that are pressed against the developer carrier of the blade member. In the method for producing a developer amount regulating blade having a roughness (Rz) of 0.3 to 20 μm,
(A) a step of producing a blade member having a pressure contact surface which is cured and surface-transferred after laminating the material of the blade member on the roughened surface transfer member;
(B) a step of laminating a support member on the opposite side of the blade member to the pressure contact surface;
(C) cutting the laminated body into a predetermined size to form a developer amount regulating blade;
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade.

  The unevenness of the developer thin film on the developer carrying member due to fine deformation of the developer carrying member can be alleviated, and image defects such as streaks and unevenness due to the developer can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the developer carrying roller in the case where the developer carrying body has a roller shape. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the developer carrying roller 54 when the developer amount regulating blade 52 is in pressure contact, and the developer carrying roller is deformed. In this case, the developer thin film (developer distribution on the developer carrying roller) formed on the surface of the developer carrying roller is non-uniform. However, if the deformation of the developer carrying roller is within the range of fine deformation (about 3 μm or less), the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade (pressure contact pressed against the developer carrying body of the developer amount regulating blade) By making the surface) a roughened surface, unevenness of the developer thin film can be mitigated on this surface, and a uniform thin film of uniformly charged developer can be formed on the developer carrying member. From such a viewpoint, the ten-point average roughness (Rz) of the charge control surface needs to be 0.3 μm or more, and more preferably 1 μm or more. On the other hand, if the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade is too rough, the non-uniformity of the developer carried on the developer carrying body increases. For this reason, Rz needs to be 20 μm or less in order to prevent the chargeability of the developer and the uniformity of the thin film of the developer carried on the developer carrying member from being impaired.

  The ten-point average surface roughness (Rz) is defined in, for example, JIS B 0601, and can be measured using, for example, a surf coder SE3500 (trade name) manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory.

  The charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade is roughened by, for example, a physical method or a chemical method, and the surface roughness Rz of the charge control surface can be within a predetermined range.

Specific examples of these methods include the following steps (1) to (8).
(1) a step of containing roughened fine particles in the pressure contact surface;
(2) A step of blasting the pressure contact surface using the roughened fine particles,
(3) A step of oscillating sandpaper against the pressure contact surface (4) A step of pressing the pressure contact surface with a roughened hot plate,
(5) a transfer step of transferring the roughened surface transfer member to the pressure contact surface;
(6) A step of molding using a mold having a roughened surface at least corresponding to the pressure contact surface,
(7) A step of laminating a coating layer containing roughened fine particles on the pressure contact surface side of the blade member,
(8) A step of etching the pressure contact surface.

  These steps can be used alone or in combination of a plurality of steps.

  When using the steps (1) and (7), the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade is roughened by containing roughened fine particles, and the surface roughness of the charge control surface is within a predetermined range. can do. In this case, it is possible to prevent the charge control surface from being worn and flattened by using the developing device for a long time.

In the roughened fine particles used in the steps (1), (2) and (7), carbon (C), silica (SiO ₂ ), alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), silicon carbide (SiC), iron oxide ( Inorganic components such as Fe ₃ O ₄ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), and tin oxide (SnO ₂ ) can also be contained. These inorganic components can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Further, the roughened fine particles may contain a resin component such as polycarbonate resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyphenol resin, polysilicone resin, polyamide resin, acrylic resin, melamine resin resin. These resin components can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Moreover, it can also use combining an inorganic component and a resin component.

  The average particle diameter of the roughened fine particles is preferably 0.01 μm or more, more preferably 0.05 μm or more in order to sufficiently roughen the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade. On the other hand, in order to form a uniform thin film of the developer carried on the developer carrying member, it is preferably 20 μm or less, and more preferably 1 μm or less. The average particle diameter of the roughened fine particles is measured by a sieving method or the like.

  Furthermore, for the same reason, the addition amount of the roughened fine particles in the blade member is preferably 0.01 to 5 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the developer.

  When using the steps (2) and (3), the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade is blasted with roughened fine particles, or the sandpaper is oscillated with respect to the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade. Thus, the surface can be roughened, and the surface roughness of the charge control surface can be set within a predetermined range.

  When using the steps (4), (5) and (6), pressing with a roughened hot plate on the surface of the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade, transfer with a roughened surface transfer member, roughening By performing molding using the surfaced mold, the surface roughness of the charge control surface can be set within a predetermined range.

  At this time, the portion corresponding to the pressure contact surface of the hot plate, the surface transfer member or the mold (the portion forming the pressure contact surface of the developer amount regulating blade) is the transfer rate [= (charge control after transfer). The ten-point average surface roughness Rz of the surface / (the ten-point average surface roughness Rz of the corresponding portion of the hot plate, the surface transfer member, or the mold)] is 50% to 95%, and thus has been conventionally used. It is necessary that the surface roughness of the hot plate, the surface transfer member or the mold is rougher, and Rz is preferably 0.3 to 30 μm.

  When using the step (8), the charge control surface of the developer amount regulating blade is roughened by performing wet etching using an organic solvent or an acidic solvent, and the surface roughness of the charge control surface is within a predetermined range. It can also be. Here, alcohol or the like can be used as the organic solvent, and hydrochloric acid or acetic acid can be used as the acidic solvent. These solutions may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  The regulation of the toner (developer) on the developer carrying roller is also affected by the elasticity of the blade member, the thickness of the support member, and the rigidity of the support member. Similarly, the total thickness of the developer regulating blade is an important factor.

  The thickness of the blade member is preferably 1 μm or more, more preferably 10 μm or more, sometimes 50 μm or more, and sometimes 100 μm or more in order to realize a sufficient function as a developer regulating blade. On the other hand, 300 μm or less is preferable, 100 μm or less is more preferable, and 50 μm or less is preferable in order to achieve appropriate pressure contact between the developer carrier and the developer regulating blade, to uniformly charge the developer, and to suppress wear of the blade member. Is more preferable.

  Further, the thickness of the support member is preferably 50 μm or more, more preferably 80 μm or more, still more preferably 90 μm or more, most preferably 100 μm or more, and on the other hand, 150 μm or less is preferable.

  Further, the total thickness of the developer amount regulating blade is preferably the sum of the thickness of the blade member as described above and the thickness of the support member as described above, and is preferably 51 to 450 μm, for example.

  From the same point of view, the blade member is preferably made of urethane rubber, polyamide resin, polyamide elastomer, silicone rubber, silicone resin, etc., and the support member is a metal flat plate, a resin flat plate, more specifically, a stainless steel plate. It is preferable to prepare from a phosphor bronze plate, an aluminum plate or the like. In order to realize predetermined charging performance or the like, an additive such as a conductive material can be added to the main material of the blade member. In addition, the support member and the blade member can be bonded by, for example, an adhesive such as hot melt.

  As a manufacturing method of the developer amount regulating blade as described above, a sheet having a 10-point average roughness (Rz) of 0.3 to 20 μm for surface transfer of the charge control surface (used in step (5)) is used. The blade member material is extruded to a uniform thickness on the surface transfer member) and solidified to produce the blade member; the support member is laminated on the surface of the obtained blade member that is not the charge control surface Then, the obtained laminate can be cut into a final shape of a developer amount regulating blade by a press, a cutter or the like, and can be manufactured with high accuracy and good productivity.

  Also, the blade member material was extruded to a uniform film thickness on a surface transfer sheet (surface transfer member used in step (5)) on the charge control surface, and solidified to produce a blade member; In a manufacturing method of laminating and laminating a support member on the surface of the blade member that is not the charge control surface; cutting the resulting laminate into the shape of the developer amount regulating blade, which is the final shape, with a press or a cutter ; Before the laminating step, after the laminating step, before the cutting step and after the cutting step, the charge control surface is roughened so that the ten-point average roughness (Rz) is 0.3 to 20 μm. By doing so, the developer amount regulating blade can be accurately manufactured with good productivity.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a method for manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade using the roll coater method. First, the surface transfer sheet 44 is mounted on the roll 43, the blade member material 45 is fed from the nozzle 42, passed through the gap of the roll 43 adjusted to a predetermined interval, and then the material 45 is dried and solidified. As a result, a blade member in which the sheet for surface transfer is coated on the charge control surface side is obtained.

  Here, the surface of the roll 43 disposed on the raw material 45 side of the blade member is preferably a roughened surface separately from the charge control surface.

  That is, the surface of the roll on the side opposite to the surface transfer sheet and in contact with the material of the blade member is roughened. In this case, of both surfaces of the obtained blade member, the surface to be bonded to the support member is roughened. As a result, the contact surface area is increased, and a large adhesive force is obtained between the blade member and the support member due to the anchor effect. From such a viewpoint, the ten-point average roughness (Rz) of the roughened surface is preferably 1.5 μm or more.

  The roughened surface of the roll surface may be embossed with various patterns, or a scratch pattern may be formed. Such a surface can be obtained by etching and mechanical roughening. It should be noted that roughening that affects the surface property of the blade member on the surface transfer sheet side (charge control surface) is avoided, and the ten-point average roughness (Rz) of the rough surface is preferably 5.0 μm or less. .

  Further, the roughened roll is not necessarily metallic and may be any heat-resistant material. For example, a silicone rubber roll having a roughening treatment is effective. Ceramics can also be used, and if there is a concern about brittleness, a reinforcing coat may be applied to the surface.

  In addition, after bonding a braid | blade member and a support member, heating etc. can be performed and a further strong adhesiveness is realizable.

  Moreover, as the sheet for surface transfer, a film formed from a polyester resin, a polyamide resin, a polyolefin resin, and a copolymer thereof can be used, and among them, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene-2, 6-naphthalate. Films formed from these and copolymers thereof and mixtures of these copolymers are preferred.

  Next, an adhesive coating film is formed on the surface of the blade member opposite to the side coated with the surface transfer sheet, and then bonded to the support member to produce a laminated structure. And the obtained laminated body is cut into a predetermined shape by punching or the like.

  The blade member and the support member can be continuously bonded by an apparatus as shown in FIG. That is, the multi-layer sheet composed of the blade member 45 and the surface transfer sheet 44 is passed through the roll 43 to perform surface transfer, and an adhesive is applied to the surface of the blade member to which the support member 46 is bonded by spraying. Thereafter, while supplying the support member 46 from the roll, the support member 46 is bonded to the blade member 45, and the obtained laminate is wound around the roll.

  In the manufacturing method as described above, unlike the blade member formed by a mold or the like, the material for the blade member is deposited on the surface transfer sheet, and the transfer surface of the surface transfer sheet is transferred to the blade member. The

  Since the surface transfer sheet is peeled before the developer amount regulating blade is used, it is preferable that the surface transfer sheet and the blade member have good peelability. From such a viewpoint, the resin used as a material for the surface transfer sheet is a linear polymer that does not contain a polar group, and the resin used as a material for the blade member is preferably a polymer that contains a polar group. .

  Moreover, as a linear polymer which does not contain a polar group, for example, an olefin polymer is preferable, and as a polymer that includes a polar group, for example, a polyamide polymer is preferable.

  The surface transfer sheet of the developer amount regulating blade manufactured as described above is not developed until just before the developer amount regulating blade is mounted at a predetermined position of the developing device, and the surface transfer sheet is coated. It is preferable to store and transport the dose regulation blade as a part (commodity). This is because the surface transfer sheet serves as a protective sheet for the developer amount regulating blade member as it is.

  Examples of the electrophotographic apparatus that can use the developing device of the present invention include a copying machine, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, or an electrophotographic application apparatus such as an electrophotographic plate making system.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of an electrophotographic apparatus equipped with the developer amount regulating blade of the present invention. Reference numeral 31 denotes a photoconductor as an image carrier, and this example is a drum type electrophotographic photoconductor having a conductive support such as aluminum and a photosensitive layer formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof as basic constituent layers. The electrophotographic photosensitive member is driven to rotate at a predetermined peripheral speed in the direction of the arrow about the support shaft.

  The charging member 32 is a corona discharger that is in contact with the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 31 and performs primary charging processing so that the peripheral surface has a predetermined polarity and potential. This may be a charging roller.

  The peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 31 that has been uniformly charged by the charging member 32 is then exposed to the target image information (laser beam scanning exposure, slit exposure of the document image, etc.) by the exposure means L, so that An electrostatic latent image 33 corresponding to target image information is formed on the surface.

  The latent image is then successively visualized as a toner image by the developing device 34. In the developing device 34, a developer amount regulating blade of the present invention is pressed against the developer carrying member 39 (not shown) so that the amount of developer carried by the developer carrying member 39 can be made constant. .

  The toner image is then transferred from a paper feeding unit (not shown) to the transfer unit between the photoconductor 31 and the transfer unit 35 at an appropriate timing by the transfer unit 35 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 31. Transfer is sequentially performed on the surface of the transfer material P. The transfer means 35 in this example is a corona discharger (may be a roller type), and the toner image on the peripheral surface side of the photoreceptor 31 is transferred by charging the toner with the reverse polarity to the toner from the back of the transfer material P. It is transferred to the surface side of the material P. In addition, in color LBP that outputs a color image using four color toners, in order to develop and visualize each of the four color images, the toner is once transferred to an intermediate transfer member such as a roller or a belt, The toner image is transferred to the surface side of the transfer material P.

  The transfer material P that has received the transfer of the toner image is separated from the peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 31 and is forwarded to the heat fixing roll 38 for image fixing and output as an image formed product.

  The peripheral surface of the photoconductor 31 after image transfer is cleaned by the cleaning means 36 after removal of adhering contaminants such as toner remaining after transfer, and is repeatedly used for image formation. It should be noted that a plurality of elements of the electrophotographic apparatus such as the photosensitive member, the charging member, the developing device, and the cleaning unit can be integrated into the process cartridge. By doing so, the process cartridge can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. For example, the photosensitive member and the developing device and, if necessary, a charging member, a cleaning unit, and the like are integrally incorporated in the process cartridge, and can be detachably configured using a guide unit such as a rail of the apparatus main body.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example and a comparative example demonstrate this invention concretely, this invention is not restrict | limited to a following example.

  Unless otherwise specified, commercially available high-purity products were used as reagents.

(Example 1) Developer amount regulating blade 1
As a raw material for the blade member, polyamide elastomer (manufactured by Daicel Huls, trade name: Daiamide E40X) was melted at 200 ° C. and extruded into a sheet through a T-die. Then, this extrusion-molded body is a surface transfer sheet (thickness is 0.1 mm, which is sandblasted with relatively general alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ) having a particle diameter of 1 μm to 5 μm as roughened fine particles. A polyethylene terephthalate film (surface transfer member) having a surface roughness Rz of 1 μm to 10 μm: (laminated by Toyobo Co., Ltd., product name: ester film) is laminated while being nipped with a roll, and the surface transfer sheet becomes a blade member When peeled from the layer, the surface (pressure contact surface) serving as the charge control surface of the blade member had a 10-point average roughness Rz of 0.5 μm to 10 μm.

  At the time of the extrusion molding, since the extrusion is performed so that the sheet thickness of the polyamide elastomer after solidification is 0.03 mm to 0.3 mm, when both (surface transfer member and blade member) are combined, the thickness is 0.1 mm to A plate-like laminate of 0.5 mm is obtained.

  An adhesive layer made of ADCOAT AD-76P1 (trade name) manufactured by Toyo Morton Co., Ltd. is provided on the surface of the blade member where the surface transfer sheet is not provided, and a phosphor bronze sheet having a plate thickness of 0.12 mm or 0.15 mm is further provided. Pasted.

  Thereafter, the plate-like laminate was press-cut to a predetermined blade size, and a developer amount regulating blade 1 was produced. The length of the developer amount regulating blade in the longitudinal direction was 230 mm, and the width was 20 mm.

(Example 2) Developer amount regulating blade 2
As a material of the blade member, polyamide elastomer (manufactured by Daicel Huls, trade name: Daiamide E40X) and carbon (C) as a roughened particle with respect to 100 parts by mass of polyamide elastomer (trade name: carbon produced by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) Black) 5-15 mass parts kneaded was melted at 200 ° C. and extruded through a T-die into a sheet. And this extrusion molding is made into a surface transfer sheet (polyethylene terephthalate film (surface transfer member) having a thickness of 0.1 mm and a surface roughness Rz of 0.3 to 1 μm): (trade name: ester film, manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd. When the polyethylene terephthalate sheet is peeled off from the layer to be the blade member, the ten-point average roughness Rz of the surface to be the charge control surface of the blade member is 0.3 μm to 3 μm. It became.

  At this time, the average particle diameter of carbon (C) as the roughened fine particles is 0.001 to 20 μm.

  Moreover, it extruded so that the sheet | seat thickness of the polyamide elastomer after solidification might be set to 0.03 mm-0.3 mm. For this reason, when both (surface transfer member and blade member) are combined, a plate-like laminate having a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm is obtained.

  An adhesive layer made of ADCOAT AD-76P1 (trade name) manufactured by Toyo Morton Co., Ltd. is provided on the surface of the blade member where the surface transfer sheet is not provided, and a phosphor bronze sheet having a thickness of 0.10 mm or 0.12 mm is further provided. Pasted.

  Thereafter, the plate-shaped laminate was press-cut to a predetermined blade size, and a developer amount regulating blade 2 was produced. The length of the developer amount regulating blade in the longitudinal direction was 230 mm, and the width was 20 mm.

(Example 3) Developer amount regulating blade 3
A sheet (kimoto) coated with a polyethylene terephthalate film (coating substrate) with a coating material containing acrylic resin and carbon (C) (roughened fine particles) having an average particle size of 0.001 to 20 μm as the material of the blade member (Trade name: carbon feather, sheet thickness: 0.08 to 0.1 mm, surface roughness Rz: 2 μm to 10 μm).

  Next, an adhesive layer made of Toyo Morton Adcoat AD-76P1 (trade name) is provided on the surface of the polyethylene terephthalate film opposite to the surface coated with acrylic resin, and the plate thickness is 0.10 mm or 0.12 mm. The phosphor bronze sheet was bonded.

  Thereafter, the plate-shaped laminate was press-cut to a predetermined blade size, and a developer amount regulating blade 3 was produced. The length of the developer amount regulating blade in the longitudinal direction was 230 mm, and the width was 20 mm. At this time, the average particle diameter of the carbon (C) as the roughened fine particles is 0.001 to 20 μm.

(Comparative Example 1) Developer amount regulating blade 4
As a material for the blade member, a polyamide elastomer (manufactured by Daicel Huls, trade name: Daiamide E40X) melted at 200 ° C. and extruded into a sheet through a T-die is a stretched sheet for surface transfer (thickness 0). The film was laminated on a polyethylene terephthalate film (surface transfer member) having a surface roughness Rz of 0.2 mm while being nipped with a roll. When the surface transfer sheet was peeled from the layer serving as the blade member, the 10-point average roughness Rz of the surface serving as the charge control surface of the blade member was 0.2 μm.

  At this time, extrusion molding was performed so that the polyamide elastomer sheet thickness after solidification was 0.03 mm to 0.3 mm. Moreover, when both (surface transfer member and blade member) are combined, a plate-like laminate having a thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm is obtained.

  The developer amount regulating blades 1 to 3 created in Examples 1 to 3 are mounted on a laser beam printer (trade name: Lasershot, Canon) manufactured by Canon Inc., and the developing sleeve is driven when the developing sleeve is driven. The toner coating state was observed, and the presence or absence of streaks and unevenness was visually confirmed. As a result, streaks and unevenness did not occur even after long-term use. On the other hand, when the developer amount regulating blade 4 prepared in Comparative Example 1 was used, streaks and unevenness occurred after a short period of use.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a developing device. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a developer amount regulating blade of the present invention. It is a typical sectional view for explaining an electrophotographic device. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the method for producing the developer amount regulating blade of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the method for producing the developer amount regulating blade of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 Electrophotographic photoreceptor 12 Developer container 13 Developer carrier 14 Developer amount regulating blade 15 Elastic roller 16 Developer 21 Blade member 22 Support member 31 Photoconductor 32 Charging member 33 Electrostatic latent image 34 Developing device 35 Transfer means 36 Cleaning means 38 Fixing roller 39 Developer carrier 41 Extruder 42 T die 43 Roll 44 Surface transfer sheet 45 Raw material 46 Support layer 50 Blade member 51 Support member 52 Developer amount regulating blade 53 Developer container 54 Developer carrier 55 Fixed point 56 Sliding part 57 Developer

Claims (9)

In the method of manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade that is in pressure contact with a developer carrier that carries the developer out of the developer container and regulates the amount of the developer,
A pressure contact surface that is in pressure contact with the developer carrier of the blade member of the developer amount regulating blade, which has at least a support member and a blade member that is provided on the support member and is in pressure contact with the developer carrier. Development characterized in that a ten-point average roughness (Rz) is roughened to 0.3 to 20 μm using at least one process selected from the group consisting of 1) to (8). A method for manufacturing a dose control blade.
(1) a step of incorporating roughened fine particles into the pressure contact surface;
(2) A step of blasting the pressure contact surface using the roughened fine particles,
(3) Step of oscillating sandpaper against the pressure contact surface (4) Step of pressing the pressure contact surface with a roughened hot plate,
(5) a transfer step of transferring the roughened surface transfer member to the pressure contact surface;
(6) A step of molding using a mold having a roughened surface corresponding to at least the pressure contact surface,
(7) A step of laminating a coating layer containing roughened fine particles on the pressure contact surface side of the blade member,
(8) A step of etching the pressure contact surface. The roughened fine particles in the steps (1), (2) and (7) are carbon (C), silicon (Si), silica (SiO ₂ ), alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ), silicon carbide (SiC), _2. The development according to claim 1, comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of iron oxide (Fe ₃ O ₄ ), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), tin oxide (SnO ₂ ), and a resin. A method for manufacturing a dose control blade.   3. The developer amount regulating blade according to claim 1, wherein an average particle size of the roughened fine particles in the steps (1), (2) and (7) is 0.01 to 20 μm. Production method.   The ten-point average roughness (Rz) of the surface on the side of pressing the pressure contact surface of the roughened hot plate in the step (4) is 0.3 to 30 µm. A method for producing the developer amount regulating blade according to the description.   2. The developer amount regulating blade according to claim 1, wherein a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of a surface transferred to the pressure contact surface of the surface transfer member in the step (5) is 0.3 to 30 μm. Manufacturing method.   2. The developer amount regulating blade according to claim 1, wherein a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of a portion corresponding to the pressure-contact surface of the mold in the step (6) is 0.3 to 30 μm. Production method.   The method of manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade according to claim 1, wherein the etching in the step (8) is wet etching using a solution containing at least one of an organic solvent and an acidic solution as an etchant.   The method for manufacturing a developer amount regulating blade according to claim 1, wherein the blade member has a thickness of 1 to 300 μm, and the support member has a thickness of 50 to 150 μm. Ten-point average roughness (Rz) of a pressure contact surface that is pressed against a developer carrier that carries the developer out of the developer container, has a blade member and a support member, and is pressed against the developer carrier of the blade member In the method for producing a developer amount regulating blade having a thickness of 0.3 to 20 μm,
(A) a step of producing a blade member having a pressure contact surface which is cured and surface-transferred after laminating the material of the blade member on the roughened surface transfer member;
(B) a step of laminating a support member on the surface of the blade member opposite to the pressure contact surface to form a laminate;
(C) cutting the laminated body into a predetermined size to form a developer amount regulating blade;
A method for producing a developer amount regulating blade, comprising:

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