US3862843A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Photographic element containing a layer of physical development nuclei less than two microns in thickness and a development activator
Assignee: Northrop Grumman Guidance and Electronics Co Inc
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Filing: 1972-06-01
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Granted: 1975-01-28
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Expires: 1992-06-01
Abstract
Abstract A physical developer activator material such as a material which reacts with the oxidized form of the reducing agent component of a physical developer is added to a photographic element comprising physical development nuclei or a photosensitive material capable of generating such nuclei. A preferred physical development activator material is an organic acid or a salt of an organic acid such as ammonium tartrate. This photographic element is utilized in a process comprising forming an image of physical development nuclei and then contacting the medium with a unitary physical developer comprising a solution of metal ions and a reducing agent for these metal ions. The photographic element of this invention is also utilized in a printing process comprising forming an image pattern of physical development nuclei in the photographic element, contacting the element with a unitary physical developer and then using the thus imaged element as a printing plate. The addition of the physical developer activator in the element used in this printing process improves the printing capability of the highlight dots or fine detail areas of the final printing plate. A preferred photographic element is one wherein the layer of physical development nuclei or photosensitive material capable of generating such nuclei has a thickness of less than about 2 microns. Preferred photosensitive materials useful in these processes are silver halide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and tin oxide.
Inventors
- 👤 Harry Lerner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 19:34
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03C; G03C1/00; G03C1/005; G03C1/06; G03C1/08; G03C1/10; G03C1/705; G03C5/00; G03C5/58; G03F; G03F7/00; G03F7/004; G03F7/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
130 words
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ELEMENT COMPRISING (1) A SUPPORT HAVING THEREON (2) A LAYER OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT NUCLEI OR OF ADJATOSENSITIVE MATERIAL CAPABLE OF GENERATING SUCH NUCLEI ADJACENT TO SAID SUPPORT, SAID LAYER INCLUDING A SOLVENT PERMEBALE BINDER AND HAVING A THICKNESS OF LESS THAN ABOUT 2 MICRONS, AND (3) A PHYSICAL DEVELOPER ACTIVATOR MATERIAL COMPRISING A COMPLEXING AGENT IN A SOLVENT PERMEABLE BINDER WHICH ACTIVATOR MATERIAL IS PRESENT IN SUFFICIENT AMOUNT TO CAUSE ACCELERATED PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN SAID LAYER UPON CONTACT WITH AN AQUEOUS PHYSICAL DEVELOPER COMPRISING A SOLUTION OF SILVER IONS, FERROUS IONS, FERRIC IONS, AND AN IONIC SURFACTANT AS A DEVELOPER STABILIZER AND WHICH ACTIVATOR MATERIA PREFERENTIALLY FORMS COMPLEXES WITH THE FERRIC IONS OF SAID PHYSICAL DEVELOPER AND WHEREIN THE ACTIVATOR MATERIAL IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SOLVENT PERMEABLE BINDER.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
130 words
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ELEMENT COMPRISING (1) A SUPPORT HAVING THEREON (2) A LAYER OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT NUCLEI OR OF ADJATOSENSITIVE MATERIAL CAPABLE OF GENERATING SUCH NUCLEI ADJACENT TO SAID SUPPORT, SAID LAYER INCLUDING A SOLVENT PERMEBALE BINDER AND HAVING A THICKNESS OF LESS THAN ABOUT 2 MICRONS, AND (3) A PHYSICAL DEVELOPER ACTIVATOR MATERIAL COMPRISING A COMPLEXING AGENT IN A SOLVENT PERMEABLE BINDER WHICH ACTIVATOR MATERIAL IS PRESENT IN SUFFICIENT AMOUNT TO CAUSE ACCELERATED PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN SAID LAYER UPON CONTACT WITH AN AQUEOUS PHYSICAL DEVELOPER COMPRISING A SOLUTION OF SILVER IONS, FERROUS IONS, FERRIC IONS, AND AN IONIC SURFACTANT AS A DEVELOPER STABILIZER AND WHICH ACTIVATOR MATERIA PREFERENTIALLY FORMS COMPLEXES WITH THE FERRIC IONS OF SAID PHYSICAL DEVELOPER AND WHEREIN THE ACTIVATOR MATERIAL IS DIFFERENT THAN THE SOLVENT PERMEABLE BINDER.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
A photographic element as in claim 1 wherein the physical developer activator material causes an increase in the rate of metal deposition or of optical density of at least about 30% as compared with the same photographic element except for the absence of the physical development activator material when developed for the same period of time with a physical developer of the same composition for the same period of time.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A photographic element as in claim 2 wherein the complexing agent is an organic acid or a salt of an organic acid.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
A photographic element as in claim 1 wherein the photosensitive material is silver halide or a photoconductor which becomes reversibly activable upon exposure to activating radiation.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
A photographic element as in claim 2 wherein the complexing agent is at least one member selected from the group consisting of (1) dicarboxylic acids and solvent soluble salts of such acids, (2) hydroxy carboxylic acids and solvent soluble salts of such acids, (3) amino acids, (4) amines, and (5) Beta -diketones.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
A photographic element as in claim 3 wherein the photosensitive material comprises titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, or silver halide.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
A photographic element as in claim 4 wherein the complexing agent is at least one member selected from the group consisting of ammonium citrate, ammonium tartrate, t-butylamine tartrate, sodium hydrogen tartrate, sodium salicylate, sodium tartrate, calcium acetate, acetylacetone, sodium sulfate, triethanolamine, disodium EDTA, and ammonium lactate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
127 words
A photographic element comprising a substrate having thereon a layer of photosensitive titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, or silver halide capable of generating physical development nuclei and having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and as a physical development activator compound comprising an organic acid or a solvent soluble salt of said organic acid and wherein the organic acid is citric acid, tartaric acid, or lactic acid and which activator compound is present in sufficient amount to cause accelerated physical development in said layer upon contact with a physical developer comprising an aqueous solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer and which activator compound preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
127 words
A photographic element comprising a substrate having thereon a layer of photosensitive titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, or silver halide capable of generating physical development nuclei and having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and as a physical development activator compound comprising an organic acid or a solvent soluble salt of said organic acid and wherein the organic acid is citric acid, tartaric acid, or lactic acid and which activator compound is present in sufficient amount to cause accelerated physical development in said layer upon contact with a physical developer comprising an aqueous solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer and which activator compound preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
A photographic element as in claim 1 wherein the physical development activator material is in a separate layer on top of the layer of physical development nuclei or of photosensitive material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
48 words
A photographic element as in claim 1 additionally comprising an ionic surfactant which upon contact of the photographic element containing an image pattern of development nuclei with a physical developer causes formation of metallic images of improved quality and durability when used for printing on a printing press.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
48 words
A photographic element as in claim 6 additionally comprising an ionic surfactant which upon contact of the photographic element containing an image pattern of development nuclei with a physical developer causes formation of metallic images of improved quality and durability when used for printing on a printing press.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
107 words
A printing plate element comprising a metallic support having thereon a silver halide emulsion layer having an excess of halide ions and said emulsion having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and a physical development activator material which is present in sufficient amount to increase physical developer activity in said layer when contacted with a physical developer comprising a solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer and which activator material comprises an organic acid or a salt of an organic acid and which activator material preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
107 words
A printing plate element comprising a metallic support having thereon a silver halide emulsion layer having an excess of halide ions and said emulsion having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and a physical development activator material which is present in sufficient amount to increase physical developer activity in said layer when contacted with a physical developer comprising a solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer and which activator material comprises an organic acid or a salt of an organic acid and which activator material preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
A printing plate element as in claim 12 wherein the silver halide emulsion additionally comprises a sulfur compound as a physical development initiator.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
A printing plate element as in claim 13 wherein the metallic support is an aluminum support which is grained and anodized and capable of being utilized on a conventional offset lithographic printing press under ordinary conditions to produce in excess of 100,000 inked copies on ordinary paper stock.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
17 words
A printing plate element as in claim 14 wherein the physical development initiator is a thiuram compound.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
A printing plate element as in claim 12 additionally comprising an ionic surfactant as a stabilizing agent for a physical developer which upon contact of the photographic element containing an image pattern of development nuclei with a physical developer causes formation of metallic images of improved quality and durability when used for printing on a printing press.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
49 words
A printing plate element as in claim 13 additionally comprising an ionic surfactant which upon contact of the photographic element containing an image pattern of development nuclei with a physical developer causes formation of metallic images of improved quality and durability when used for printing on a printing press.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
60 words
A printing plate element as in claim 12 wherein the metallic support is grained, such grain when tested on the OSRM producing a trace having a Peak Height A of between about 0.25 and about 0.90 at a Position B of between about 0.35 and about 0.80 and having a psi Value C of between about 0.40 and about 1.0
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
60 words
A printing plate element as in claim 14 wherein the metallic support is grained, such grain when tested on the OSRM producing a trace having a Peak Height A of between about 0.75 and about 0.85 at a Position B of between about 0.70 and about 0.75 and having a psi Value C of between about 0.75 and about 0.90.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
60 words
A printing plate element as in claim 16 wherein the metallic support is grained, such grain when tested on the OSRM producing a trace having a Peak Height A of between about 0.25 and about 0.90 at a Position B of between about 0.35 and about 0.80 and having a psi Value C of between about 0.40 and about 1.0.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
60 words
A printing plate element as in claim 16 wherein the metallic support is grained, such grain when tested on the OSRM producing a trace having a Peak Height A of between about 0.75 and about 0.85 at a Position B of between about 0.70 and about 0.75 and having a psi Value C of between about 0.75 and about 0.90.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
142 words
A photographic element comprising a support having thereon a layer of physical development nuclei or of photosensitive material capable of generating such nuclei said layer having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and separate top layer of a physical developer activator material in a solvent permeable binder and said activator comprising a solvent soluble salt of citric acid, tartaric acid or lactic acid in an amount which causes an increase in the rate of metal deposition of at least about 30% in a physical developer comprising a solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer as compared to using the same developer on an identical photographic element except for the absence of the physical developer activator material and which activator material preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
142 words
A photographic element comprising a support having thereon a layer of physical development nuclei or of photosensitive material capable of generating such nuclei said layer having a thickness of less than about 2 microns and separate top layer of a physical developer activator material in a solvent permeable binder and said activator comprising a solvent soluble salt of citric acid, tartaric acid or lactic acid in an amount which causes an increase in the rate of metal deposition of at least about 30% in a physical developer comprising a solution of silver ions, ferrous ions, ferric ions, and an ionic surfactant as a developer stabilizer as compared to using the same developer on an identical photographic element except for the absence of the physical developer activator material and which activator material preferentially forms complexes with the ferric ions of said physical developer.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
26 words
A photographic element as in claim 22 wherein the physical developer activator material comprises an ammonium salt of tartaric acid, citric acid or of lactic acid.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-01-27 | 1978-07-29 | 1979-01-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-01-27 | 1982-07-29 | 1983-01-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-01-27 | 1986-07-29 | 1987-01-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |