Magnetic carrier and two-component developer

• US 8,921,023 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2013
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Baba, Yoshinobu, Kawakami, Hiroaki, Ishigami, Koh, Hama, Masayuki, Kamae, Kentaro
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, HOA VAN
• Application Number:
  US13/961,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20140045115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: 430/111.32, 430/111.33, 430/111.34, 430/111.4, 430/111.41
• US Class Current: 430/111.32
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/1075 Structural characteristics of the carrier particles, e.g. shape or crystallographic structure
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/1085 with non-ferrous metal oxide, e.g. MgO-Fe2O3
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/10884 Binder is obtained other than by reactions only involving carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/1131 Coating methods; Structure of coatings

Abstract

Provided is a magnetic carrier excellent in leakage, uniformity of a solid image having satisfactory charging stability and developing performance at low electric field. The magnetic carrier is a magnetic carrier comprising: a magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier core, which contains a magnetic substance and a binding resin, and a coating resin on a surface thereof, wherein: the carrier core has resistivity at 1000 V/cm of 5.0×10⁶-8.0×10⁷ Ω·cm, the magnetic substance has a number average particle diameter of 0.20-0.35 μm; and comprises magnetic-substance particles having vertexes and a particle diameter of 0.53 μm or more in an amount of 10.0-32.0 vol % based on a total amount of the magnetic substance; and wherein: the carrier core has Fe₂O₃ content of 98.00% by mass or more; and ZnO content of 0.06-0.50% by mass.

Claims

1. A magnetic carrier comprising:

a magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier core, which contains a magnetic substance and a binding resin, and

a coating resin on a surface thereof,

wherein;

the magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier core has a resistivity Rk at 1000 V/cm of 5.0×

10⁶ Ω

·

cm or more and 8.0×

10⁷ Ω

·

cm or less,

the magnetic substance

i) has a number average particle diameter of 0.20 μ

m or more and 0.35 μ

m or less, and

ii) comprises magnetic-substance particles having a shape with vertexes and having a particle diameter of 0.53 μ

m or more in an amount of 10.0 vol % or more and 32.0 vol % or less based on a total amount of the magnetic substance;

and wherein;

when analyzing an element in the magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier core by a fluorescent X-ray analysis and calculating the contents of Fe element and Zn element therein by fundamental parameter quantitative method,

i) an Fe₂O₃ content is 98.00% by mass or more, and

ii) a ZnO content is 0.06% by mass or more and 0.50% by mass or less,

with respect to the total amount by mass of all the detected elements provided that all the detected elements are in oxide form.

2. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has a magnetization intensity at 79.6 kA/m of 50.0 Am²/kg or more and 60.0 Am²/kg or less and has a residual magnetization of 8.5 Am²/kg or less.

3. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein, resistivity of the magnetic carrier at 1000 V/cm represented by Rc and the resistivity Rk satisfy

0.8≦

Rc/Rk≦

70.0.

4. The magnetic carrier according to claim 3, wherein the resistivity Rc is 5.0×

10⁶ Ω

·

cm or more and 8.0×

10⁷ Ω

·

cm or less.

5. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein, within a range from the surface of the magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier core to a depth of 1.0 μ

m, an area proportion of the binding resin portion is 35% or more and 80% or less with respect to a sum of an area of a binding resin portion and a sectional area of a magnetic substance portion.

6. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein, in the surface of the magnetic substance-dispersed resin carrier, convex portions of the magnetic-substance particles having the shape with vertexes are present at a density of 0.8 portions/μ

m² or more and 3.0 portions/μ

m² or less.

7. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has a 50% particle diameter (D50) on a volume distribution basis of 20.0 μ

m or more and 70.0 μ

m or less.

8. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has a true specific gravity of 3.0 g/cm³ or more and 4.0 g/cm³ or less.

9. A two-component developer comprising a toner and the magnetic carrier according to claim 1.

10. The two-component developer according to claim 9, wherein the toner has an average circularity of 0.945 or more and 0.985 or less.