IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,326,688
Granted Patent B2
US 12,326,688 · App. 17/814,655 · Granted Jun 10, 2025

Electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus

Inventors: Tatsuya Yamaai (Kanagawa, JP); Kaname Watariguchi (Kanagawa, JP); Kenichi Kaku (Shizuoka, JP); Shuhei Iwasaki (Kanagawa, JP); Akihiro Maruyama (Shizuoka, JP)
Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
G03G5/047G03G5/0571G03G5/062G03G5/0696G03G15/0233G03G15/054
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,326,688
App. No.
17/814,655
Granted
Jun 10, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes: a support; an undercoat layer; a charge generation layer; and a charge transport layer, wherein the undercoat layer contains a polyamide resin and a titanium oxide fine particle, and on the surface of the undercoat layer, an arithmetic mean roughness Ra and an average length Rsm of a roughness curve element both according to JIS B0601:2001 satisfy Ra≤50 nm and 0.1≤Ra/Rsm≤0.5; and the charge generation layer contains a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment, wherein the hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment includes crystal particles having a crystal form exhibiting peaks at 7.4°±0.3° and 28.2°±0.3° at Bragg angles 2θ in a spectrum of X-ray diffraction using a CuKα, ray; and in a size distribution of the crystal particles, which is measured using small-angle X-ray scattering, a peak exists in a range of 20 to 50 nm, and the peak has a half-value width of 50 nm or smaller.

Claims (36)

1. An electrophotographic photosensitive member, comprising:

a support, an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer in this order;

the charge transport layer containing a charge transport material;

the undercoat layer comprising a polyamide resin and a titanium oxide fine particle; and

the charge generation layer comprising a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment, wherein

Ra≤50 and 0.1≤Ra/Rsm≤0.5 when on the surface of the undercoat layer, Ra (nm) is an arithmetic mean roughness and Rsm (nm) is an average length of a roughness curve element according to JIS B0601:2001

the hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment comprises crystal particles having a crystal form that exhibits peaks at 7.4°±0.3° and 28.2°±0.3° at Bragg angles 2θ in a spectrum of X-ray diffraction using a CuKα ray, and

a peak having a half-value width of 50 nm or smaller exists in a range of 20 to 50 nm in a size distribution of the crystal particles measured using small-angle X-ray scattering.

2. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein Ra is 30 nm or smaller.

3. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium oxide fine particle has an average primary particle size of 10 to 100 nm.

4. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium oxide fine particle has an average primary particle size of 30 to 60 nm.

5. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein the undercoat layer has a film thickness of 0.5 to 3.0 μm.

6. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein the charge generation layer has a film thickness of 0.15 μm or larger.

7. A process cartridge integrally supporting an electrophotographic photosensitive member and comprising:

at least one unit selected from the group consisting of a charging unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit and a cleaning unit, the process cartridge being detachably attachable to a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus;

the electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a support, an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer in this order;

the charge transport layer containing a charge transport material;

the undercoat layer comprising a polyamide resin and a titanium oxide fine particle; and

the charge generation layer comprising a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment, wherein

Ra≤50 and 0.1≤Ra/Rsm≤0.5 when on the surface of the undercoat layer, Ra (nm) is an arithmetic mean roughness and Rsm (nm) is an average length of a roughness curve element according to JIS B0601:2001

the hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment comprises crystal particles having a crystal form that exhibits peaks at 7.4°±0.3° and 28.2°±0.3° at Bragg angles 2θ in a spectrum of X-ray diffraction using a CuKα ray, and

a peak having a half-value width of 50 nm or smaller exists in a range of 20 to 50 nm in a size distribution of the crystal particles measured using small-angle X-ray scattering.

8. An electrophotographic apparatus, comprising:

an electrophotographic photosensitive member;

a charging unit;

an exposure unit;

a developing unit; and

a transfer unit;

the electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a support, an undercoat layer, a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer in this order;

the charge transport layer containing a charge transport material;

the undercoat layer comprising a polyamide resin and a titanium oxide fine particle; and

the charge generation layer comprising a hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment, wherein

Ra≤50 and 0.1≤Ra/Rsm≤0.5 when on the surface of the undercoat layer, Ra (nm) is an arithmetic mean roughness and Rsm (nm) is an average length of a roughness curve element according to JIS B0601:2001

the hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment comprises crystal particles having a crystal form that exhibits peaks at 7.4°±0.3° and 28.2°±0.3° at Bragg angles 2θ in a spectrum of X-ray diffraction using a CuKα ray, and

a peak having a half-value width of 50 nm or smaller exists in a range of 20 to 50 nm in a size distribution of the crystal particles, which is measured using small-angle X-ray scattering.

9. The electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1 , wherein the hydroxygallium phthalocyanine pigment comprises crystal particles having N-methylformamide.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 7, 2022
From: YAMAAI, TATSUYA; WATARIGUCHI, KANAME; KAKU, KENICHI; IWASAKI, SHUHEI; MARUYAMA, AKIHIRO
To: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 061008/0059 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2021-130197 · Aug 6, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230059773A1 · Feb 23, 2023
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