Toner having special surface features and method to make the same
AssigneeLexmark International, Inc.
InventorsJING X SUN, QING ZHANG, BENJAMIN KEITH NEWMAN, CORY NATHAN HAMMOND, LIGIA AURA BEJAT
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a polyester chemically produced toner composition including a core shell toner particle having special surface features and method to make the same. The special surface features on the outer surface of the core shell toner particle are created by the incorporation of a specially designed polymer latex having styrene and acrylate monomers into the core or shell of the toner particle wherein the polymer latex having styrene and acrylate monomers is tailored to be incompatible with the polyester resin(s) found in the core or the shell of the toner particle.
Claims10
A method for producing toner, comprising:
- combining and agglomerating a first polymer emulsion with a colorant dispersion, a release agent dispersion to form toner cores;
- adding a borax coupling agent to the toner cores;
- combining and agglomerating a second polymer emulsion and a polymer latex including a hydrophilic monomer having one of a carboxyl (—COOH) functional group and a hydroxyl (—OH) functional group and hydrophobic styrene and acrylate monomers with the toner cores having the borax coupling agent to form toner shells around the toner cores;
- and
- fusing the aggregated toner cores and toner shells to form toner particles, wherein the toner that is produced has special surface features on its outer surface and the polymer latex is used to control the raw toner charge and charge distribution of the toner.
A method for producing toner, comprising:
- combining a first polymer emulsion with a colorant dispersion, a release agent and a polymer latex including a hydrophilic monomer having one of a carboxyl (—COOH) functional group and a hydroxyl (—OH) functional group and hydrophobic styrene and acrylate monomers dispersion to form toner cores;
- adjusting the pH of the combination of the first polymer emulsion, the colorant dispersion, the release agent dispersion and the polymer latex to promote agglomeration of the toner cores;
- once the toner cores reach a predetermined size, adding a borax coupling agent to the toner cores;
- combining a second polymer emulsion with the toner cores having the borax coupling agent and forming toner shells around the toner cores;
- once a desired toner particle size is reached, adjusting the pH of the mixture of aggregated toner cores and toner shells to prevent additional particle growth;
- and
- fusing the aggregated toner cores and toner shells to form toner particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.