Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Canon Kasei Kabushiki Kaisha

Yoshihiro Hirai

Takashi Yamashita

Masaaki Takenaka

A charging member, which is to be provided in contact with an object member and to which a voltage is to be applied to electrostatically charge the object member, has a substrate, and a metal layer and a surface layer of a seamless tube. The charging member may be used with a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus.

Charging member, and process cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus

A contact charging member to be abutted against a charge-receiving member and supplied with a voltage for charging the charge-receiving member is provided. The charging member includes an electroconductive substrate, an elastic layer and a surface layer disposed in lamination. The surface layer comprises crosslinked polymer crosslinked by irradiation with an electron beam. The surface layer may preferably be in the form of a seamless tube formed of the crosslinked polymer. The surface layer crosslinked by electron beam irradiation is less liable to suffer from transfer of a crosslinking agent or a decomposition product thereof to the charge-receiving member. Accordingly, the charging member shows improved durability and stably uniform charging ability suitable for electrophotographic image formation under various environmental conditions.

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Ibaraki-ken, Japan

Yoshihiro Hirai