Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Electric or magnetic imagery – e.g. – xerography,... – Post imaging process – finishing – or perfecting composition...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-06
2003-09-30
Dote, Janis L. (Department: 1756)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Electric or magnetic imagery, e.g., xerography,...
Post imaging process, finishing, or perfecting composition...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06627368
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a organic metal complex compound useful to be used in a toner as an electrophotographic developer and an electrophotographic image developing toner containing the organic metal complex compound.
2. Prior Arts
A developing method used for an electrophotographic method is classified into a dry type developing method and a wet type developing method. The former method is classified into a method of using a two-component type developer and a one-component type developer.
A toner used for these developing methods, comprises fine powders having a dye or a pigment dispersed in a natural or synthetic resin. For example, there is used a toner comprising finely divided particles of about 5 to 15 &mgr;m having a coloring agent dispersed in a binder resin such as polystyrene. Also, there is used a magnetic toner containing magnetic particles such as magnetite.
It is necessary for any of these toners to have positive or negative charges depending on a polarity of an electrostatic latent image to be developed. In order to have the toner charged, it is possible to use tribo-chargeability of resin as a component for the toner, but according to this method, a developed image tends to cause fogging and to be unclear. Therefore, in order to impart a desired tribo-chargeability to a toner, it is carried out to add a dye or a pigment imparting chargeability or to add a charge control agent.
A toner containing a charge control agent tends to pollute a toner-carrying material such as a developing sleeve, and therefore a tribo-charged amount is lowered in proportion to an increase in an amount of copied sheets, thereby easily causing a decrease in an image density. Also, a certain kind of a charge control agent does not provide a sufficient tribo-charge amount, and tends to be easily influenced by temperature or humidity, thereby causing a variation in an image density by an environmental change.
Also, a certain kind of charge control agent does not have a satisfactory dispersibility in resin, and therefore a toner containing the same tends to provide ununiform tribo-charge amounts between toner particles, thereby easily causing fogging. Further, a certain kind of charge control agent has a poor storage stability, and tends to lower a tribo-charge amount during storing for a long term.
In order to solve these problems, JP-A-61-155464 proposes to use an iron type complex compound.
According to this publication, the iron type complex compound has a negative tribo-chargeability, and has a very satisfactory compatibility with resin, and since this is an iron type complex compound, it is disclosed to be satisfactory also in view of environmental safety unlike such a conventional chromium compound as disclosed in JP-A-55-42752.
Recently, a printer or a facsimile employing an electrophotographic method has been developed, and a copying speed has been required to be higher and higher year by year, and there is demanded a toner which can be appropriately charged instantly in a shorter time than a conventional copying machine. Thus, as compared with a conventional toner, such a toner containing an iron type complex compound as disclosed in JP-A-61-155464 is required to be appropriately charged instantly when converting from a suspending state to an input state and is also required not to lower a tribo-charging performance even after being allowed to stand for a long time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of prior arts and to provide a toner having a satisfactory building-up of chargeability and providing a satisfactory reproduction of a stable image for a long time without being influenced by a change in temperature and humidity even after repeating development by continuous use.
The present inventors have studied and discovered that a toner using a organic metal complex compound adjusted to be dispersed in ion-exchanged water in such a manner as to have an electroconductivity lowered to a certain level or less, provides a satisfactory environmental stability, an improved building-up of chargeability, a stable charging performance and a satisfactory stable image density. The above-mentioned method of providing a charge control agent having a quality level satisfying requirements of a high-speed copying and a satisfactory control is quite novel.
Thus, the present invention provides a organic metal complex compound represented by the following formula (1) or (2), which has an electroconductivity of at most 110 &mgr;S/cm when dispersed in ion-exchanged water in an amount of 1 wt %, and an electrostatic image developing toner containing the organic metal complex compound.
In the above formula, M is a coordinated center metal such as Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Mn and Fe; Ar is an aryl group such as a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group and a substituted or unsubstituted naphthyl group, examples of the substituent of which include a C
1
-C
18
alkyl group, a C
1
-C
18
alkoxy group, a nitro group, a halogen group, an alkenyl group, a sulfonamide group, a sulfonalkyl group, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, a carboxyester group, a hydroxyl group, an acetylamino group, a benzoylamino group, a substituted or unsubstituted anilide group, and the like; X and Y are —S—, —O—, —CO—, —COO—, —NH—, —NR— (R is a C
1
-C
4
alkyl group) and the like; K
+
is a hydrogen ion, a lithium ion, a sodium ion, a potassium ion, an ammonium ion, an organic ammonium ion, and a mixture thereof; m is a number of an azo compound coordinated to a metal M, and is 1, 2, 3 or 6; p is a valence of a metal M; n is 1, 2 or 4; and q is 0 or an integer.
In the above formula, M is a coordinated center metal such as Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Mn and Fe; Ar is an aryl group such as a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl group and a substituted or unsubstituted naphthyl group, examples of the substituent of which include a C
1
-C
18
alkyl group, a C
1
-C
18
alkoxy group, a nitro group, a halogen group, an alkenyl group, a sulfonamide group, a sulfonalkyl group, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, a carboxyester group, a hydroxyl group, an acetylamino group, a benzoylamino group and a substituted or unsubstituted anilide group; X
1
, X
2
, Y
1
and Y
2
are —S—, —O—, —CO—, —COO—, —NH— and —NR— (R is a C
1
-C
4
alkyl group); and K
+
is a hydrogen ion, a lithium ion, a sodium ion, a potassium ion, an ammonium ion, an organic ammonium ion, and a mixture thereof.
Among the above organic metal complex compounds, the following compound of the formula (3) is particularly preferable as a compound containing no heavy metal such as Cr as a coordinated center metal in view of environmental safety, which achieves such aimed effects of the present invention as to retain an appropriate charge instantly and not to lower a tribo-charging performance even after being allowed to stand for a long time.
Thus, the present invention provides an electrostatic image developing toner, characterized by containing an azo type iron complex compound represented by the following formula (3).
In the above formula, X
1
and X
2
are a hydrogen atom, a C
1
-C
4
alkyl group, a C
1
-C
4
alkoxy group, a nitro group or a halogen atom; X
1
and X
2
may be the same or different, and m and m′ are an integer of 1 to 3; R
1
and R
3
are a hydrogen atom, a C
1
-C
18
alkyl group, a C
1
-C
18
alkoxy group, an alkenyl group, a sulfonamide group, a sulfonalkyl group, a sulfonic acid group, a carboxyl group, a carboxyester group, a hydroxyl group, an acetylamino group, a benzoylamino group, or a halogen atom; R
1
and R
3
may be the same or different, and n and n′ are an integer of from 1 to 3; R
2
and R
4
are a hydrogen atom or a nitro group; and A
+
is a hydrogen ion, a sodium ion, a potassium ion, an ammonium ion, an organic ammonium ion or a mixture thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As a result of the study by the present inventors, it has been found that a toner containing a organi
Nanaumi Hiroshi
Okubo Masaki
Sawano Masataka
Dote Janis L.
Hodagaya Chemical Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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