US 7,247,415 B2Granted

Process for preparing toner particles and toner particles

AssigneeXerox Corporation

InventorsMark E. Mang, Joseph L. Leonardo, Hui Chang, Robert R. Heim

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Abstract

Toner particles are prepared by a process comprising providing an extrusion apparatus; adding resin particles and additive particles to a supply means in the extrusion apparatus; adding the resin particles and the additive particles to a blending chamber in the extrusion apparatus, which blending chamber is maintained at a temperature of from about 50° C. to about 120° C.; blending the resin particles and the additive particles to form a mixture; extruding the resin particles to form extruded material; injecting liquid substances, which have a lower boiling point than the melt temperature of the resin particles, into the blending chamber during extrusion without the application of a vacuum to remove the liquid substances prior to extrusion; and grinding the extruded material to form toner particles.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A method for the preparation of toner particles with a mixture of resin particles and additive particles, comprising

(1) providing a toner processing apparatus;
(2) adding resin particles and additive particles to the toner processing apparatus;
(3) blending the resin particles and the additive particles in a blending chamber to form an extrudate, wherein the blending chamber is maintained at a temperature of from about 50° C. to about 230° C.;
(4) extruding the extrudate to form extruded material;
and
(5) grinding the extruded material to form toner particles;
wherein a liquid substance comprising an aliphatic alcohol is injected into the blending chamber during the extruding, the liquid substance having a lower boiling point than the temperature of the resin particles;
and
wherein the liquid substance is not removed from the blending chamber by vacuum extraction;
and
wherein the liquid substance may be injected into the blending chamber at any specified point during extrusion.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.