Electrophotographic photosensitive member, method of manufacturing electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus

• US 7,553,594 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Issued: 06/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ogaki, Harunobu, Noguchi, Kazunori, Miki, Nobumichi, Kosaka, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): RODEE, CHRISTOPHER D
• Application Number:
  US12/103,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20080199795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 441 Days
• Field of Search: 430/69, 430/59.6, 430/132, 430/66, 399/159
• US Class Current: 430/66
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0539 Halogenated polymers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0546 Polymers comprising at least one carboxyl radical, e.g. polyacrylic acid, polycrotonic acid, polymaleic acid; Derivatives thereof, e.g. their esters, salts, anhydrides, nitriles, amides
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/056 Polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0592 Macromolecular compounds characterised by their structure or by their chemical properties, e.g. block polymers, reticulated polymers, molecular weight, acidity
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14726 Halogenated polymers
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/1473 Polyvinylalcohol, polyallylalcohol; Derivatives thereof, e.g. polyvinylesters, polyvinylethers, polyvinylamines
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14734 Polymers comprising at least one carboxyl radical, e.g. polyacrylic acid, polycrotonic acid, polymaleic acid; Derivatives thereof, e.g. their esters, salts, anhydrides, nitriles, amides
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14752 Polyesters
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/14791 Macromolecular compounds characterised by their structure, e.g. block polymers, reticulated polymers, or by their chemical properties, e.g. by molecular weight or acidity

Abstract

An electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties, a method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each having the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a polymer having a specific repeating structural unit and fluorine-atom-containing resin particles. The fluorine-atom-containing particles in the surface layer are dispersed so as to be provided with particle sizes almost up to those of primary particles.

Claims

1. An electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a support and a photosensitive layer formed on the support

wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive member has a surface layer containing a polymer having repeating structural units each represented by the following formula (1):

2. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the polymer having the repeating structural units represented by the formula (1) further has repeating structural units each represented by the following formula (a):

3. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 2, wherein Z in the formula (a) is a polymer unit having a repeating structural unit represented by the following formula (b-1) or (b-2):

4. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 2, wherein Y in the formula (a) is a divalent organic group having at least a structure represented by the following formula (c):

5. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the polymer having the repeating structural units each represented by the formula (1) is synthesized by polymerization of compounds each represented by the following formula (3):

6. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 2, wherein the polymer having the repeating structural units each represented by the formula (1) and the repeating structural units each represented by the formula (a) is synthesized by polymerization of compounds each represented by the following formula (3) and compounds each represented by the following formula (d):

7. An electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, wherein the fluorine-atom-containing resin particles comprise tetrafluoroethylene resin particles, trifluoroethylene resin particles, tetrafluoroethylene/propylene hexafluoride resin particles, vinyl fluoride resin particles, vinylidene fluoride resin particles, ethylene difluoride/ethylene dichloride resin particles, or particles of a copolymer of two or more of monomers constituting these resins.

8. A method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, which comprises a step of forming the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by using a surface-layer coating solution containing the polymer having the repeating structural units each represented by the formula (1) and the fluorine-atom-containing resin particles.

9. A process cartridge which integrally supports the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 and at least one unit selected from the group consisting of a charging unit, a developing unit and a cleaning unit, and is detachably mountable on a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus.

10. An electrophotographic apparatus which comprises the electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1, a charging unit, an exposing unit, a developing unit and a transfer unit.