Cartridge and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12282269-B2
Application number	US-202318354776-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2023
Priority date	Jul 28, 2022
Publication date	Apr 22, 2025
Grant date	Apr 22, 2025

Abstract

A cartridge provides comprising: a toner, a developing roller, a supply member and a regular member. The supply member abuts the surface of the developing roller and the regulating member serves to regulate the toner carried on the surface of the developing roller. The cartridge includes a first supply electrode to which a voltage is supplied from outside of the cartridge, with the supply member and the regulating member electrically connected to the same first supply electrode. Additionally, the toner contains a compound A having a structure represented by Formula (1) below,

—(CH 2 CH 2 O)—  (1)
where, when compound A is eluted in methanol a supernatant containing compound A is analyzed by liquid chromatograph ESI/MS, a specific peak of which an average m/z is 300 to 1000 exists.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cartridge, comprising:
a toner;
a developing roller carrying on a surface thereof the toner;
a developer container rotatably supporting the developing roller;
a toner accommodating portion accommodating the toner;
a supply member abutting the surface of the developing roller and supplying the toner from the toner accommodating portion to the surface of the developing roller; and
a regulating member abutting the surface of the developing roller and regulating the toner carried on the surface of the developing roller, wherein
the cartridge comprises a first supply electrode to which a voltage is supplied from outside of the cartridge,
the supply member and the regulating member are electrically connected to the same first supply electrode,
the toner comprises a compound A having a structure represented by Formula (1) below,
—(CH 2 CH 2 O)—  (1)

the compound A is eluted in methanol when elution treatment of the toner is carried out under an elution condition A below, and
in a case where a supernatant obtained by centrifuging an eluate of the compound A eluted in the methanol under a centrifugation condition A below is analyzed within a range of m/z=50 to 1500 by liquid chromatograph ESI/MS, a reference peak defied as follows is present, and an average m/z defined as follows is 300 to 1000:
Elution condition A: Methanol (a product equivalent to JIS K8891) in an amount of ten times that of the toner by mass is used, and a mixture thereof is stirred at 25° C. at a rotor rotation speed of 200 rpm for 10 hours with a stirring apparatus;
Centrifugation condition A: Rotation is performed with a rotation radius of 10.1 cm and a rotation speed of 3500 rpm at 25° C. for 30 minutes;
Reference peak: A relative abundance is obtained on the assumption that an abundance of a peak of a highest strength in a mass analysis spectrum obtained by liquid chromatograph ESI/MS of the supernatant is 100%; peaks are chosen in a descending order of relative abundance, and a m/z value of a peak top of the chosen peak is defined as P; and a chosen peak with a highest relative abundance is defined as the reference peak from among the chosen peaks including peaks with a relative abundance of not less than 10% and with m/z values of P +44 or P −44 at peak tops;
Average m/z: The m/z value at the peak top of the reference peak is defined as Ps, the m/z value at the peak top=Ps+44n (n is an integer), and an average value of m/z at peak tops of peaks with a relative abundance of not less than 30% is defined as an average m/z.

2. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the toner is a negatively charged toner, and
when the supernatant is supplied to a liquid chromatograph ESI/MS analysis device and is analyzed under an analysis condition A below, the compound A comprised in the supernatant is detected in an ionized form as a cation:
Analysis condition A: Under conditions of Sheath gas: 10 (arb. unit.), Aux gas: 5 (arb. unit.), spray voltage: 5 kV, and capillary temperature: 275° C., a compound ionized under conditions of capillary voltage: 35 V and tube lens voltage: 110 V is detected as a cation, and a compound ionized under conditions of capillary voltage: −35 V and tube lens voltage: −110 V is detected as an anion.

3. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the toner comprises a compound B eluted in methanol when elution treatment is carried out on the toner under the elution condition A, and when the supernatant is supplied to a liquid chromatograph ESI/MS analysis device and is analyzed under an analysis condition A below, the compound B comprised in the supernatant is detected in an ionized form as anion:
Analysis condition A: Under conditions of Sheath gas: 10 (arb. unit.), Aux gas: 5 (arb. unit.), spray voltage: 5 kV, and capillary temperature: 275° C., a compound ionized under conditions of capillary voltage: 35 V and tube lens voltage: 110 V is detected as a cation, and a compound ionized under conditions of capillary voltage: −35 V and tube lens voltage: −110 V is detected as anion.

4. The cartridge according to claim 3 , wherein a peak is detected at m/z=325 in a case where the supernatant is analyzed by a liquid chromatograph ESI/MS analysis device, and
a peak is detected at m/z=183 or m/z=197 in a case where the peak detected at m/z=325 is analyzed by a tandem mass spectrometer directly connected to the liquid chromatography ESI/MS analysis device under analysis conditions B:
Analysis condition B: Under conditions of Sheath gas: 10 (arb. unit.), Aux gas: 5 (arb. unit.), spray voltage: 5 kV, and capillary temperature: 275° C., a compound ionized under conditions of capillary voltage: −35 V and tube lens voltage: −110 V is detected as anion, and an ion detected at m/z=325 is selected as precursor ion, and an ion obtained by causing collision-induced dissociation with an inert gas: He at a collision energy: 35 eV is detected.

5. The cartridge according to claim 3 , wherein in the analysis of the supernatant under the analysis condition A,
a value of ratio P/N of a peak area P of a cation containing the compound A with respect to a peak area N of anion containing the compound B, calculated from a chromatogram analyzed under analysis conditions C below, is 0.20 to 2.00:
Analysis condition C: When 10 μL of solution is poured into an apparatus configuration using methanol in a mobile phase and not using any stationary phase at a flow rate of 1 ml/min, a range of m/z=50 to 1500 is analyzed by setting an acquisition time to 5 min and using a UV detector as a detector, and chromatogram is acquired.

6. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein a content proportion of the structure represented by Formula (1) comprised in the compound A, with reference to the mass of the toner, is 50 to 1500 ppm by mass.

7. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the toner comprises a toner particle and an external additive on a surface of the toner particle, and
a surface exposure rate of the toner particle is not less than 50% by area.

8. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the toner is a non-magnetic toner.

9. The cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising an electric element between the first supply electrode and the supply member.

10. The cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising an electric element between the first supply electrode and the regulating member.

11. The cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge comprises a second supply electrode which is different from the first supply electrode, a voltage being supplied from outside of the cartridge to the second supply electrode,
the cartridge further comprising an electric element between the second supply electrode and the developing roller.

12. The cartridge according to claim 11 , wherein the developing roller is not electrically connected to the supply member and the regulating member, and
the developing roller is electrically connected to the second supply electrode.

13. The cartridge according to claim 1 , further comprising a photosensitive drum being an image bearing member and a charging member charging a surface of the photosensitive drum.

14. The cartridge according to claim 13 , wherein the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum is collected by the developing roller after the toner developed on the surface of the photosensitive drum is transferred to outside.

15. The cartridge according to claim 13 , wherein in a case where the photosensitive drum is rotated, a region of the photosensitive drum, where a developing portion in which the photosensitive drum and

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Kototani Shohei
• Tanaka Masatake
• Sugitani Yosuke
• Baba Daisuke
• Hiramatsu Takashi

Classifications

• G03G2215/0643

  Electrodes in developing area, e.g. wires, not belonging to the main donor part · CPC title

• G03G21/0011

  using a blade; Details of cleaning blades, e.g. blade shape, layer forming · CPC title

• G03G15/5004

  Power supply control, e.g. power-saving mode, automatic power turn-off · CPC title

• G03G15/0868

  Toner cartridges fulfilling a continuous function within the electrographic apparatus during the use of the supplied developer material, e.g. toner discharge on demand, storing residual toner, acting as an active closure for the developer replenishing opening · CPC title

• G03G15/0812

  characterised by the developer regulating means, e.g. structure of doctor blade · CPC title