← Back to Patent Explorer
US4646163A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Ion projection copier

Assignee: Xerox Corp
•
Filing: 1985-10-07
•
Granted: 1987-02-24
•
Expires: 2005-10-07
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A fluid jet assisted ion projection copier including a marking head incorporating an array of thin film ion modulating electrodes and photosensors integrated upon a single substrate. An optical projection system places incremental images of light and dark areas from an original to be copied onto the photosensor array. The marking head is mounted upon the ion projection housing, adjacent an outlet channel thereof for controlling the passage of ions out of the housing in accordance with the projected pattern of light and dark areas.

Inventors

  • 👤 Hsing C. Tuan
  • 👤 Malcolm J. Thompson

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 20:57
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/05

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim 175 words
A fluid jet assisted ion projection copier including means for projecting ions upon a charge receptor surface, said means for projecting comprising an ion generator, an inlet channel and an outlet channel connected to said ion generator, a source of transport fluid in communication with said inlet channel for delivering transport fluid to move ions through said outlet channel, and modulation means located adjacent said outlet channel for controlling the passage of ions therethrough, and means for projecting incremental images of light and dark areas of an original to be copied, said ion projection copier characterized by comprising a writing head mounted upon said means for projecting ions and adjacent to said outlet channel said writing head including thin films elements integrally formed thereon including an array of modulating electrodes elongated in the direction of fluid flow, an array of photosensors, one photosensor being associated with each modulating electrode, and a bias potential bus for charging selected ones of said modulating electrodes in response to the state of illumination on selected ones of said photosensors.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 175 words
A fluid jet assisted ion projection copier including means for projecting ions upon a charge receptor surface, said means for projecting comprising an ion generator, an inlet channel and an outlet channel connected to said ion generator, a source of transport fluid in communication with said inlet channel for delivering transport fluid to move ions through said outlet channel, and modulation means located adjacent said outlet channel for controlling the passage of ions therethrough, and means for projecting incremental images of light and dark areas of an original to be copied, said ion projection copier characterized by comprising a writing head mounted upon said means for projecting ions and adjacent to said outlet channel said writing head including thin films elements integrally formed thereon including an array of modulating electrodes elongated in the direction of fluid flow, an array of photosensors, one photosensor being associated with each modulating electrode, and a bias potential bus for charging selected ones of said modulating electrodes in response to the state of illumination on selected ones of said photosensors.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 38 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the amount of charge imposed upon said selected ones of said modulating electrodes is proportional to the state of illumination reaching said photosensors.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 49 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said writing head further includes an array of load resistors, one load resistor being associated with each photosensor, and each of said photosensors is connected to a reference potential through its associated load resistor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 23 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said photosensors are made of amorphous semiconductor material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 22 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said photosensors are made of amorphous silicon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 47 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said writing head further includes an array of switches, one switch being associated with each photosensor, and each of said photosensors is connected to a reference potential bus through its associated switch.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 21 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 6 characterized in that said switches are thin film transistors.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 28 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 7 characterized in that said photosensors and said thin film transistors are made of amorphous semiconductor material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 27 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 7 characterized in that said photosensors and said thin film transistors are made of amorphous silicon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 55 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 6 characterized by including a switch control bus, connected to all of the switches in said array, and timing means for periodically changing the state of said switches to allow any charge stored on said modulating electrodes to drain to said reference potential bus.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 23 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said photosensors are thin film gap cell transistors.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 81 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said writing head further includes a second bias potential bus for connecting a lower potential source, than that connected to said bias potential bus, to said photosensors, and an array of switches, one switch being associated with each photosensor, each switch being controlled by the conductive state of its associated photosensor for selectively applying the potential on said bias potential bus to its associated modulating electrode.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 21 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 12 characterized in that said switches are thin film transistors.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 23 words
The fluid jet assisted ion projection copier as defined in claim 12 characterized in that said photosensors are thin film sandwich cell transistors.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3323131A Cited
US3594162A Cited
US4463363A Cited
US4524371A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1990-02-23 1990-08-25 1991-02-24 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1994-02-23 1994-08-25 1995-02-24 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1998-02-23 1998-08-25 1999-02-24 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag