ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC MEMBER, INTERMEDIATE TRANSFER MEMBER, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC MEMBER

• US 20130149540A1
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Published: 06/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yoshikawa, Tadanobu, Tominaga, Hiroshi, Watanabe, Akira, Shimizu, Yasushi, Sato, Koichi, Kameyama, Naoto, Onuma, Kenji, Nakamura, Koichi, Sakamoto, Rieko
• Granted Patent: US 8,962,133 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/411.1
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/02 by baking B05D3/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/068 using ionising radiations (gamma, X, electrons)
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/107 Post-treatment of applied coatings
• CPC Class Codes: B05D 3/12 by mechanical means
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/162 details of the the intermediate support, e.g. chemical composition
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0129 horizontal medium transport path at the secondary transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/1695 at the second or higher order transfer point
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14 Inert intermediate or cover layers for charge-receiving layers G03G5/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14726 Halogenated polymers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/254 Polymeric or resinous material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31504 Composite [nonstructural laminate]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/3154 Of fluorinated addition polymer from unsaturated monomers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31544 Addition polymer is perhalogenated
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31935 Ester, halide or nitrile of addition polymer

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide: an electrophotographic member which enhances image quality, prevents the lowering of a grade of an image even when images have been repeatedly output, and can remarkably enhance the stability of the grade of the image; an intermediate transfer member; and an image forming apparatus. The electrophotographic member includes a base layer and a surface layer, wherein the surface layer has a binder resin, perfluoropolymer fine particles, a fluorocarbon resin dispersing agent and a particular fluorine compound, wherein the perfluoropolymer fine particle has a fluorine compound carried on its surface.

Claims

1. An electrophotographic member comprising a base layer and a surface layer, wherein

the surface layer comprises

a binder resin,

perfluoropolymer fine particles,

a fluorocarbon resin dispersing agent and

a fluorine compound, wherein

the perfluoropolymer fine particle has the fluorine compound carried on the surface thereof, and wherein

the fluorine compound is a perfluoropolyether compound or a branched polymer compound having a perfluoroalkyl group.

2. The electrophotographic member according to claim 1, wherein the binder resin is an acrylic resin or methacrylic resin.

3. The electrophotographic member according to claim 1, wherein the branched polymer compound having the perfluoroalkyl group is a terminal-fluorinated dendritic polymer compound.

4. The electrophotographic member according to claim 1, wherein

the fluorocarbon resin dispersing agent is

(i) a block copolymer obtained by copolymerizing a vinyl monomer which has a fluoroalkyl group therein, with an acrylate or a methacrylate;

or

(ii) a comb-type graft copolymer obtained by copolymerizing an acrylate or methacrylate which has a fluoroalkyl group therein, with a macromonomer of a methacrylate having polymethyl methacrylate in its side chain.

5. The electrophotographic member according claim 1, wherein a surface free energy of the fluorine compound is lower than a surface free energy of the perfluoropolymer fine particle.

6. The electrophotographic member according to claim 1, wherein the perfluoropolymer fine particle is a polytetrafluoroethylene fine particle or a fine particle of a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether.

7. An intermediate transfer member to be used in an image forming apparatus which primarily transfers a toner image that has been formed on a first image bearing member onto the intermediate transfer member, and then secondarily transfers the toner image that has been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer member onto a second image bearing member to obtain an image, wherein

the intermediate transfer member is the electrophotographic member according to claim 1.

8. An image forming apparatus which primarily transfers a toner image that has been formed on a first image bearing member onto an intermediate transfer member, and then secondarily transfers the toner image that has been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer member onto a second image bearing member to obtain an image, wherein

the intermediate transfer member is the electrophotographic member according to claim 1.

9. A process of preparing the electrophotographic member according to claim 1, comprising forming a surface layer on the base layer by:

a coating step of coating a dispersion having a polymerizable monomer, the perfluoropolymer fine particles, the fluorocarbon resin dispersing agent and the fluorine compound on the base layer; and

a polymerizing step of polymerizing the polymerizable monomer.

10. The process of preparing the electrophotographic member according to claim 9, further comprising an outermost surface layer removing step of removing an outermost surface of the surface layer through an outermost surface layer removing operation, after the polymerizing step.

11. The process of preparing the electrophotographic member according to claim 10, wherein the outermost surface layer removing step is a step of removing the outermost surface of the surface layer by performing at least one treatment selected from the group consisting of plasma treatment, alkali treatment and mechanical polishing treatment.