	US 7,585,606 B2
	Developer carrying member and developing method by using thereof
Masayoshi Shimamura, Kanagawa (Japan); Kenji Fujishima, Kanagawa (Japan); Naoki Okamoto, Shizuoka (Japan); Yasutaka Akashi, Kanagawa (Japan); Satoshi Otake, Shizuoka (Japan); Kazunori Saiki, Kanagawa (Japan); and Yasuhide Goseki, Kanagawa (Japan)
Assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Mar. 09, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/684,409.
Application 11/684409 is a division of application No. 10/853311, filed on May 26, 2004, granted, now 7,223,511, filed on May 29, 2007.
Claims priority of application No. 2003-309530 (JP), filed on Sep. 02, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2007/0154834 A1, Jul. 05, 2007
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G03G 15/06 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 430—123.3

4 Claims

1. A developing method comprising the steps of:

carrying a one-component developer contained in a developer container onto a developer carrying member in the form of a layer;

conveying the developer layer by the developer carrying member to a developing region opposed to an electrostatic latent image carrying member; and

forming a toner image with the conveyed developer layer by developing an electrostatic latent image carried on the electrostatic latent image carrying member,

wherein the developer carrying member includes a substrate and a resin-coated layer formed on the substrate,

wherein the resin-coated layer contains at least a binder resin, graphitized particles and roughing particles,

wherein the graphitized particles have a graphitization degree (p(002)) of 0.20 to 0.95 and a volume-averaged particle size of 1.0 to 3.6 μm in an intermediate coating used for forming the resin-coated layer,

wherein the roughing particles have a volume-averaged particle size of 5.5 to 20.0 μm and an average circularity SF-1 of not less than 0.75,

wherein the resin-coated layer has an arithmetic mean roughness (Ra) of 0.9 to 2.5 μm and, in a surface configuration of the resin-coated layer as measured by use of a focused optical laser, a volume (B) of a microtopographical region defined by a certain area (A) of the microtopographical region without convexity formed by the roughing particles meets the following relationship: 4.5≤B/A≤6.5,

wherein the resin-coated layer is formed by coating the substrate with the intermediate coating using an air-spray method and by heating the resin-coated layer, and

wherein the graphitized particles are obtained by a method comprising the steps of:

pulverizing bulk mesophase pitch to obtain pulverized particles having a size of 2 to 25 μm, the bulk mesophase pitch being 95% or more by weight soluble in quinoline;

oxidizing the pulverized particles at a temperature of 200 to 350° C. in air to obtain oxidation-treated particles containing 5 to 15% oxygen by weight;

carbonizing the oxidation-treated particles by a primary burning conducted at a temperature of 800 to 1200° C. in an inert atmosphere; and

graphitizing the carbonized particles by a secondary burning conducted at a temperature of 2000 to 3500° C. in an inert atmosphere.