Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
274 words
An electrostatic holding and conveying apparatus comprising a pair of rollers having at least one driving roller; an endless conveyer belt extending between said pair of rollers for conveying a sheet-like material thereon by holding it from one side only of said material in contact with the endless conveyer belt, said endless conveyer belt having a base layer of flexible insulative material, two groups of electrodes spaced and disposed on a first surface of said base layer in such a manner that each two adjacent electrodes are positionally separated and electrically insulated from each other and belong to different groups, respectively, a protective layer of flexible material of poor conductivity disposed on the whole of said first surface of said base layer to cover all of said electrodes, and at least two terminals located on one surface of said conveyor belt and electrically connected to said two groups of electrodes, respectively; and at least one pair of contact members connected across a high voltage DC source and located to continuously contact said terminals of said conveyer belt, respectively, for applying a high voltage between said two groups of electrodes, thereby establishing an electrostatic flux appearing outside said protective layer of said conveyer belt so that the sheet-like material on the surface of said protective layer of said conveyer belt is electrostatically attracted to and held by the conveyer belt by the action of an electrostatic bonding force between an electrical charge in each electrode and an electrical charge of an opposite polarity induced in the sheet-like material, whereby, when said conveyer belt is driven, the sheet-like material is fed together with said conveyer belt.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
274 words
An electrostatic holding and conveying apparatus comprising a pair of rollers having at least one driving roller; an endless conveyer belt extending between said pair of rollers for conveying a sheet-like material thereon by holding it from one side only of said material in contact with the endless conveyer belt, said endless conveyer belt having a base layer of flexible insulative material, two groups of electrodes spaced and disposed on a first surface of said base layer in such a manner that each two adjacent electrodes are positionally separated and electrically insulated from each other and belong to different groups, respectively, a protective layer of flexible material of poor conductivity disposed on the whole of said first surface of said base layer to cover all of said electrodes, and at least two terminals located on one surface of said conveyor belt and electrically connected to said two groups of electrodes, respectively; and at least one pair of contact members connected across a high voltage DC source and located to continuously contact said terminals of said conveyer belt, respectively, for applying a high voltage between said two groups of electrodes, thereby establishing an electrostatic flux appearing outside said protective layer of said conveyer belt so that the sheet-like material on the surface of said protective layer of said conveyer belt is electrostatically attracted to and held by the conveyer belt by the action of an electrostatic bonding force between an electrical charge in each electrode and an electrical charge of an opposite polarity induced in the sheet-like material, whereby, when said conveyer belt is driven, the sheet-like material is fed together with said conveyer belt.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
97 words
An apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said two terminals of said belt member are two groups of terminals located in two rows at a substantially equal interval along the full length of said endless belt member and wherein at least one of said rollers has a pair of conductive rings disposed thereon to surround the one roller and spaced and located in registration and contact with the respective groups of terminals on said endless belt member, said pair of rings being in contact with a pair of brush members connected to said DC voltage source.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
An apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said two terminals of said belt member are two continuous conductive regions formed apart from each other and extending along the full length of said endless belt member and wherein at least one pair of brush member connected to said DC voltage source are located to contact with said continuous conductive regions of said endless belt member.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1 wherein said protective layer is made of a soft, flexible semiconductive thermoplastics having a resistivity of 10 8 Ωcm to 10 12 Ωcm and a dielectric constant of 4 to 12.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1 wherein said protective layer is made of flexible insulative plastics having a dielectric constant of 4 or more.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1, 4 or 5 wherein said base layer includes a first and second layers of soft flexible insulative material and a reinforcing cloth interposed between and bonded to said first and second layers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1, 4 or 5 wherein said two groups of electrodes are interdigitated in such a manner that one electrode of one group is interposed between two adjacent electrodes of the other group.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
16 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1 wherein said electrodes are made of conductive paint.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
A conveyer belt set forth in claim 1 wherein said electrodes are made of conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive.