Magnetic carrier and two-component developer

• US 9,063,443 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2013
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ishigami, Koh, Kamae, Kentaro, Komatsu, Nozomu, Baba, Yoshinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Dote, Janis L
• Application Number:
  US13/901,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20130316282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 430/111.33, 430/111.32, 430/111.31
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/0833 Oxides
• 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 9/1131 Coating methods; Structure of coatings
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 9/1133 obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds

Abstract

The present invention provides a magnetic carrier that can stably impart charge to a toner on a long term basis and that exhibits an excellent toner separation property and thus exhibits an excellent developing performance. This magnetic carrier is a magnetic carrier in which a vinyl resin coats the surface of a resin-filled core in which a resin is filled in pores of a porous ferrite particle, wherein the resistivity, Mg content, and total content of Sr and Ca oxides of the porous ferrite particle exhibit prescribed values and the magnetic carrier has a total area—in the backscattered electron projection image obtained by observation using a scanning electron microscope at an acceleration voltage of 2.0 kV—for a region originating with the porous ferrite particle of from at least 0.2 area % to not more than 5.0 area % with reference to the projected area of the magnetic carrier.

Claims

1. A magnetic carrier of which a resin-filled core is coated with a vinyl-resin, the resin-filled core having a porous ferrite particle in pores of which a resin is filled, wherein

the porous ferrite particle

i) has a resistivity at 100 V/cm of from at least 8.0×

10⁴ Ω

·

cm to not more than 5.0×

10⁶ Ω

·

cm,

ii) contains an oxide of Mg in the range from at least 1.00 mass % to not more than 15.00 mass % as MgO with reference to the mass of the porous ferrite particle, and

iii) contains an oxide of Sr and an oxide of Ca, with a total content of these oxides of from at least 0.20 mass % to not more than 3.00 mass % as SrO and CaO with reference to the mass of the porous ferrite particle, and wherein

in a backscattered electron projection image of the magnetic carrier obtained by using a scanning electron microscope at an acceleration voltage of 2.0 kV, the magnetic carrier has a total area for regions originating from the porous ferrite particle of from at least 0.2 area % to not more than 5.0 area % with reference to the projected area of the magnetic carrier.

2. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to the regions originating from the porous ferrite particle in the projection image,

the magnetic carrier has an average value worked out by averaging the area of each of regions that originates from the porous ferrite particle of from at least 0.45 μ

m² to not more than 1.40 μ

m².

3. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to the regions originating with the porous ferrite particle in the projection image, the magnetic carrier has

i) a total area for the regions, in which the area of each of regions is at least 6.672 μ

m², accounts for not more than 8.0 area % with reference to the total area of the regions originating with the porous ferrite particle, and

ii) a total area for the regions, in which the area of each of regions is not more than 2.780 μ

m², accounts for at least 70.0 area % with reference to the total area of the regions originating with the porous ferrite particle.

4. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has a residual magnetization, after the application of an external magnetic field of 1000/4π

(kA/m), of not more than 3.0 Am²/kg.

5. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the amount of resin filled in the pores of the porous ferrite particle is from at least 6 mass % to not more than 25 mass % with reference to the porous ferrite particle.

6. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the amount of vinyl resin coating the resin-filled core is from at least 0.1 mass parts to not more than 5.0 mass parts for each 100 mass parts of the resin-filled core.

7. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has a true specific gravity of from at least 3.5 g/cm³ to not more than 4.2 g/cm³.

8. The magnetic carrier according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic carrier has an intensity of magnetization at 1000/4π

(kA/m) of from at least 40 Am²/kg to not more than 65 Am²/kg and a residual magnetization, after the application of an external magnetic field of 1000/4π

(kA/m), of not more than 3.0 Am²/kg.

9. A two-component developer comprising a magnetic carrier and a toner having a toner particle that comprises a binder resin and a colorant, wherein

the magnetic carrier is the magnetic carrier according to claim 1.

10. The two-component developer according to claim 9, wherein

the toner comprises the toner particles and inorganic fine particles each having a number-average primary particle diameter of from at least 60 nm to not more than 300 nm, and

the coverage ratio of the toner particles by the inorganic fine particles is at least 60%.