US3861940A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for electrostatic printing, products produced thereby, and use of these products
Assignee: Zellweger Uster AG
•
Filing: 1972-07-14
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Granted: 1975-01-21
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Expires: 1992-07-14
Abstract
Abstract A method of producing printed images according to electrostatic printing techniques wherein during at least a portion of the time when there is produced a latent electrostatic charge image there is undertaken a change in the spacing between an electrode arrangement decisive for the the structure of the charge image and a carrier for the reception of the latent electrostatic charge image and/or a counterelectrode. The invention is also concerned with labels produced according to the method aspects of this development and the use of such labels for marking articles, especially sales articles.
Inventors
- 👤 Gabor Forgo
- 👤 Erwin Meyer
- 👤 Karl Moser
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 21:35
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K1/00; G06K1/12; G06K1/128; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/22; G03G15/32; G03G15/321; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S101/00; Y10S101/37; Y10S430/00; Y10S430/001; Y10S430/102; Y10S430/138
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim
168 words
A METHOD OF PRODUCING PRINTED IMAGES BY ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING TECHNIQUES, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF PRODUCING A LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE ON A CARRIER, AND DURING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE TIME WHEN THE LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE IS PRODUCED CARRYING OUT A CHANGE IN THE SPACING BETWEEN AN ELECTRODE ARRANGEMENT WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE AND THE CARRIER FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE, SAD CHANGE IN SPACING CAUSING PARTIAL DISCHARGES FOR THE FORMATION OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO TRAVEL THROUGH DIFFERENT PATHS ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE ELECTRODE ARRANGEMENT AND THE CARRIER TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO BE PRODUCED, SO AS TO BRING ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM COVERING OF TONER PARTICLES OVER THE SURFACE OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO THEREBY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE ELECTROSTATICALLY PRINTED IMAGE, CONTACTING THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE WITH TONER PARTICLES, AND FIXING THE TONER PARTICLES TO THE CARRIER.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
168 words
A METHOD OF PRODUCING PRINTED IMAGES BY ELECTROSTATIC PRINTING TECHNIQUES, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF PRODUCING A LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE ON A CARRIER, AND DURING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE TIME WHEN THE LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE IS PRODUCED CARRYING OUT A CHANGE IN THE SPACING BETWEEN AN ELECTRODE ARRANGEMENT WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE AND THE CARRIER FOR THE RECEPTION OF THE LATENT ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE, SAD CHANGE IN SPACING CAUSING PARTIAL DISCHARGES FOR THE FORMATION OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO TRAVEL THROUGH DIFFERENT PATHS ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE ELECTRODE ARRANGEMENT AND THE CARRIER TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO BE PRODUCED, SO AS TO BRING ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM COVERING OF TONER PARTICLES OVER THE SURFACE OF THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE TO THEREBY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE ELECTROSTATICALLY PRINTED IMAGE, CONTACTING THE ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE IMAGE WITH TONER PARTICLES, AND FIXING THE TONER PARTICLES TO THE CARRIER.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the change in the spacing is undertaken by approaching or removing the electrode arrangement towards or away from the carrier.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the change in the spacing is carried out by approaching or removing the carrier towards or away from the electrode arrangement.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the change in spacing comprises moving both the electrode arrangement and the carrier.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method as defined in claim 1, wherein said change in spacing comprises creating relative movement between the electrode arrangement and the carrier in alternate directions and having movement components substantially parallel to the plane of the carrier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method as defined in claim 5, including the step of maintaining the carrier stationary, and shifting the electrode arrangement in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the carrier to carry out said change in spacing and also in a lateral direction transverse to the direction of such change in spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of maintaining the electrode arrangement stationary, and shifting the carrier towards or away from the electrode arrangement and moving the carrier in a direction transverse to the direction of change in the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising placing both the electrode arrangement and the carrier in motion in the direction of change in the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier and in a direction substantially transverse thereto.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the steps of carrying out relative movement essentially at the same time between the electrode arrangement and the carrier, controlling the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier and in a direction substantially transverse thereto.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the steps of carrying out relative movement at different periods of time between the electrode arrangement and the carrier in a direction which changes the spacing therebetween and in a direction substantially transverse to the direction of changing the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of delivering voltages required to the electrode arrangement and a counterelectrode.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method as defined in claim 5, further including the step of delivering voltages required to the electrode arrangement and a counterelectrode in a direction transverse to the direction of altering the spacing between such electrode arrangement and the carrier.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the steps of providing an electrostatic printing mechAnism, and delivering thhe carrier in a stepwise fashion to the electrostatic printing mechanism for producing the latent electrostatic charge image.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of providing an electrostatic printing mechanism, and delivering the carrier with the printed image continuously to the electrostatic printing mechanism for producing the latent electrostatic charge image.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of providing a corona discharge device, and delivering the carrier to the corona discharge device.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of providing a developer, and respectively delivering the carrier provided with a latent electrostatic charge image towards and away from the developer.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method as defined in claim 16, further including the step of delivering the carrier with the developed electrostatic charge image to a fixer and again withdrawing such from the fixer after fixing the developed electrostatic charge image.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method as defined in claim 5, further including the step of controlling the amplitude of the relative movement transverse to the direction of change in the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier so as to be at least so large that surface elements of the latent electrostatic charge image and the developed printed image at least abut one another without any intermediate gaps.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
61 words
The method as defined in claim 5, further including the step of controlling the amplitude of the relative movement transverse to the direction of change in the spacing between the electrode arrangement and the carrier so as to be at least so large that surface elements of the latent electrostatic charge image and the developed printed image slightly overlap one another.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
56 words
The method as defined in claim 5, further including the step of providing a counterelectrode, applying voltage by means of a manual control device serving for the initiation and periodic maintenance of an electrical discharge between the electrode arrangement and the counterelectrode for producing a latent electrostatic charge image which corresponds to the desired printed image.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the step of providing a counterelectrode and an automatic control circuit for the selection of individual electrodes of the electrode arrangement for the production of the latent electrostatic charge image corresponding to a desired printed image and which electrodes are to have applied thereto voltage for the initiation and periodic maintenance of an electrical discharge between the electrode arrangement and the counterelectrode.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as defined in claim 21, further including the steps of providing a weighing device having an output signal, and applying the voltage to the individual electrodes of the electrode arrangement automatically as a function of the output signal of the weighing device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method as defined in claim 1, further including the steps of providing an electrostatic printing mechanism and a feed mechanism, storing at a supply device the carriers for the latent electrostatic charge image upon a carrier foil strip and delivering such by means of the feed mechanism to the electrostatic printing mechanism.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as defined in claim 23, including the step of placing said feed mechanism into operation for successively advancing the carrier foil strip with the thereon adhering carriers for the charge image.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
65 words
The method as defined in claim 24, including the step of deflecting the carrier foil strip about a sharp edge such that owing to the greater stiffness of the carrier relative to the carrier foil strip the carrier containing the electrostatic charge image is detached from the carrier foil strip, and thereafter delivering such detached carrier to a developer for developing the electrostatic charge image.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method as defined in claim 25, including the step of delivering tHe carrier foil strip freed of carriers to a predetermined location for subsequent reuse.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of employing the thus produced carrier as a label for the marking of articles.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
162 words
A method of producing printed images by electrostatic printing, comprising the steps of producing a latent electrostatic charge image on a carrier, and during at least a portion of the time when the latent electrostatic charge image is produced carrying out a change in spacing between an electrode arrangement responsible for the structure of the electrostatic charge image and a counterelectrode, said change in spacing causing partial discharges for the formation of the electrostatic charge image to travel through different paths across the space between the electrode arrangement and the carrier to provide a substantially uniform deposit of charges and therefore a substantially uniform potential distribution within the confines of the electrostatic charge image to be produced, so as to induce a substantially uniform covering of toner particles over the surface of the electrostatic charge image to thereby improve the quality of the electrostatically printed image, contacting the electrostatic charge image with toner particles, and fixing the toner particles to the carrier.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
162 words
A method of producing printed images by electrostatic printing, comprising the steps of producing a latent electrostatic charge image on a carrier, and during at least a portion of the time when the latent electrostatic charge image is produced carrying out a change in spacing between an electrode arrangement responsible for the structure of the electrostatic charge image and a counterelectrode, said change in spacing causing partial discharges for the formation of the electrostatic charge image to travel through different paths across the space between the electrode arrangement and the carrier to provide a substantially uniform deposit of charges and therefore a substantially uniform potential distribution within the confines of the electrostatic charge image to be produced, so as to induce a substantially uniform covering of toner particles over the surface of the electrostatic charge image to thereby improve the quality of the electrostatically printed image, contacting the electrostatic charge image with toner particles, and fixing the toner particles to the carrier.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-01-20 | 1978-07-22 | 1979-01-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-01-20 | 1982-07-22 | 1983-01-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-01-20 | 1986-07-22 | 1987-01-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |