Fixer and image forming apparatus
A fixer fixing a toner including a binder resin and a colorant on a recording medium upon application of at least one of heat and pressure, including: a fixing member fixing the toner on the recording medium; a pressurizing member pressurizing the toner thereon; and a cleaning member collecting the toner from the fixing member or the pressurizing member onto the cleaning member, wherein a storage modulus of the toner collected on the cleaning member is larger than a storage modulus thereof before fixed.
1. A fixer fixing a toner comprising a binder resin and a colorant on a recording medium upon application of at least one of heat and pressure, comprising:
a fixing member configured to fix the toner on the recording medium;
a pressurizing member configured to pressurize the toner thereon;
a cleaning member configured to collect the toner from the fixing member or the pressurizing member onto the cleaning member; and
a feeder configured to feed a reactive material to the cleaning member, wherein the reactive material is a material that reacts with the toner to increase the storage modulus of the toner on the cleaning member, wherein the reactive material is a metallic compound,
wherein a storage modulus of the toner collected on the cleaning member is larger than a storage modulus thereof before fixed.
2. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the fixing member is a fixing roller and the pressurizing member is a pressure roller.
3. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the fixing member is a fixing belt extended and suspended on plural rollers, the pressurizing member is a pressure roller, and the cleaning member is a cleaning roller.
4. The fixer of claim 3 , wherein the cleaning roller has a ten-point mean roughness Rz of from 3 to 50 μm.
5. The fixer of claim 3 , wherein the cleaning roller is coated with a reactive material enlarging a storage modulus of the binder resin.
6. The fixer of claim 5 , wherein the reactive material is a metallic compound.
7. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner has a storage modulus of from 5.0×10 3 to 5.0×10 4 Pa at 120° C. and a storage modulus of from 1.0×10 3 to 3.0×10 4 Pa at 180° C. before heated in the fixer.
8. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein a difference between a storage modulus G′ 1 of the toner at 120° C. before a reactive material is fed thereto and a storage modulus G′ 2 thereof at 120° C. after the reactive material is fed thereto satisfies the following relationship:
0< G′ 2 −G′ 1≦10,000 Pa.
9. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner collected on the cleaning member has a storage modulus at 120° C. of up to 100 times larger than a storage modulus at 120° C. thereof before being heated in the fixer.
10. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner collected on the cleaning member has a storage modulus at 180° C. of up to 10 times larger than a storage modulus at 180° C. thereof before being heated in the fixer.
11. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the binder resin comprises a polyester resin having an acid value of from 1.0 to 50.0 mg KOH/g.
12. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner comprises a charge controlling agent.
13. The fixer of claim 12 , wherein the charge controlling agent is a salicylic acid metal complex included in the toner in an amount of from 0.5 to 6.0% by weight.
14. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner further comprises a release agent.
15. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner further comprises a metallic compound subjecting a prepolymer to an elongation or a crosslinking reaction upon receipt of heat.
16. The fixer of claim 15 , wherein the metallic compound is a salicylic acid metal complex.
17. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner has an average circularity not less than 0.94.
18. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner is prepared by a method comprising:
dissolving or dispersing a polyester resin, a compound having an active hydrogen, a polymer having a group capable of reacting with the compound having an active hydrogen, a colorant and a release agent in an organic solvent to prepare a toner constituent; and
dispersing the toner constituent in an aqueous medium to subject the toner constituent to at least one of an elongation reaction and a crosslinking reaction.
19. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner is prepared by a method comprising:
mixing and kneading a polyester resin, a compound having an active hydrogen, a polymer having a group capable of reacting with the compound having an active hydrogen, a colorant and a release agent upon application of heat to prepare a kneaded mixture; and
cooling and pulverizing the kneaded mixture.
20. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner has a volume-average particle diameter (Dv) of from 3.0 to 8.0 μm, and a ratio (Dv/Dn) thereof to a number-average particle diameter (Dn) of from 1.00 to 1.40.
21. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner has a shape factor SF- 1 of from 100 to 180 and a shape factor SF- 2 of from 100 to 180.
22. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the toner has the shape of a spindle, and wherein a ratio (r 2 /r 1 ) of a major axis particle diameter (r 1 ) of the toner to a minor axis particle diameter (r 2 ) thereof is from 0.5 to 1.0 and a ratio (r 3 /r 2 ) of a thickness (r 3 ) of the toner to the minor axis particle diameter (r 2 ) thereof is from 0.7 to 1.0.
23. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the feeder is a feed roller.
24. The fixer of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning member comprises a coated layer comprising:
a reactive material enlarging a storage modulus of the binder resin; and
a coating resin,
wherein the coated layer is plural.
25. The fixer of claim 24 , wherein a ratio Dcore (the reactive material/the binder resin) at a contact part of the coated layer to a metallic shaft of the cleaning member and a ratio Dsurface (the reactive material/the binder resin) in the surface thereof satisfy the following relationship:
Dcore>Dsurface.
26. The fixer of claim 24 , wherein the coated layer comprises at least:
a first coated layer located overlying the metallic shaft of the cleaning member; and
a second coated layer located overlying the first coated layer,
wherein the first coated layer includes the reactive material in a larger amount than the second coated layer per unit volume.
27. The fixer of claim 26 , wherein the first coated layer includes the reactive material (RM) and the coating resin (CR) in an amount (RM/CR) of 30% to 70%/70% to 30% by weight.
28. The fixer of claim 24 , wherein the coating resin has a functional group reacting with the reactive material at the end.
29. The fixer of claim 28 , wherein the functional group is a carboxylic acid.
30. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image bearer;
a charger configured to charge the image bearer;
an irradiator configured to irradiate the image bearer to form an electrostatic latent image thereon;
an image developer configured to develop the electrostatic latent image with a toner to form a toner image thereon;
a transferer configured to transfer the toner image onto a recording member;
a cleaner configured to remove the toner remaining on the image bearer; and
a fixer configured to fix the toner image on the recording member,
wherein the fixer is the fixer according to claim 1 .
31. A process cartridge detachable from the image forming apparatus according to claim 30 , comprising an image bearer; and at least one of a charger, an image developer and a cleaner.