Conductive Member for Electrophotography Resisting Ion Bleeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrophotographic conductive members using ion conducting agents, such as quaternary ammonium salts, experience increased electrical resistance over time, especially in low temperature and low humidity environments, leading to image quality issues like horizontal linear non-uniformity and decreased image density.
Innovation Solution
The use of a binder resin with specific structures, including those represented by formulas (1), (2), and (3), which immobilize the cationic group of the quaternary ammonium salt, preventing ion pair formation and bleeding, thereby maintaining conductivity and preventing resistance changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If an ion conducting agent is used in the electrically conducting layer, then the electrical resistance is uniform and low initial resistance is achieved, but the electrical resistance increases with time due to ion depletion and bleeding
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical structure parameters of the binder resin by introducing specific functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, or amino groups) that can chemically interact with the quaternary ammonium salt. This structural modification enables the binder to suppress ion pair formation and prevent bleeding, thereby maintaining stable electrical resistance over time while preserving initial uniformity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite electrically conducting layer combining carbon black particles with a specifically modified binder resin containing reactive functional groups. This composite structure allows the binder to chemically anchor the ion conducting agent, preventing its migration and depletion, thus maintaining both initial uniformity and long-term stability of electrical resistance.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a quaternary ammonium salt with glycidyl group is used, then bleeding is prevented and resistance change is reduced, but resistance still increases in low temperature and low humidity environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the binder resin's chemical parameters by incorporating specific functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, or amino groups) that can form chemical bonds with the quaternary ammonium salt. This structural change enhances the binder's ability to suppress ion pair formation and prevent bleeding, while also maintaining stable electrical resistance in low temperature and low humidity environments by ensuring continuous ionic conduction pathways.
3Manufacturing precision
If the ion conducting agent is added to the binder resin, then uniform dispersion is achieved, but the ion conducting agent may soak out to the surface and adhere to contact members
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the binder resin by introducing reactive functional groups (carboxyl, hydroxyl, or amino groups) that can form chemical bonds with the quaternary ammonium salt. This structural modification ensures the ion conducting agent remains firmly embedded in the binder matrix, preventing both non-uniform dispersion and surface migration (bleeding) to contact members.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure where the quaternary ammonium salt is chemically bonded to the binder resin through reactive functional groups. This composite approach ensures uniform dispersion of the electrically conducting agent throughout the binder matrix while preventing its migration to surfaces, as the chemical bonding anchors it within the bulk material.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures stable conductivity and prevents ion conducting agent bleeding, ensuring high-grade electrophotographic images are formed consistently across various environments without significant resistance changes.
Implementation Method 1
the ion conducting agent undergoes dissociation into the cation and the anion and the respective ions move in accordance with the electric field gradient, thereby bringing out the conductivity
Implementation Method 2
the ion conducting agent undergoes dissociation into the cation and the anion
Implementation Method 3
the quaternary ammonium salt having a glycidyl group can react with a functional group such as a hydroxyl group, carboxylic acid group or amino group present in the binder resin, to form a covalent bond
Implementation Method 4
an ion conducting agent such as a quaternary ammonium salt compound are known in the art
Data Source
AI summary
To provide an electrically conducting member for electrophotography that has made itself kept from increasing in electrical resistance with time even in a low temperature and low humidity environment and also has made any ion conducting agent kept from bleeding to its surface. To also provide a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, that can stably form high-grade electrophotographic images over a long period of time in a variety of environments. The conductive member for electrophotography has an electrically conducting substrate and an electrically conducting layer, and the electrically conducting layer contains a resin having in the molecule at least one structure selected from structures represented by the formula (1), formula (2) and formula (3) each defined in the specification. The process cartridge and the electrophotographic image forming apparatus each make use of the same.