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Thermographic elements

Assignee: 3M Co
•
Filing: 1990-10-26
•
Granted: 1994-06-07
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Expires: 2010-10-26
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Abstract

Abstract Thermographic elements comprising at least two layers, wherein: at least one of the layers comprises polymer, the polymer consisting essentially of, repeating, interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or blends thereof, the polymer being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of uniform film; and at least one of the layers is an imaging layer, selected from the group consisting of dye-donor layers, image-receiving layers or heat-activatable imaging layers, and a method of thermal imaging using receptor films comprising the polymer described above.

Inventors

  • 👤 Edward F. Hampl, Jr.
  • 👤 Susan K. Jongewaard
  • 👤 Suzanne J. Thompson

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-01 13:44
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41M; B41M5/00; B41M5/26; B41M5/40; B41M5/42; B41M5/44; B41M5/41; B41M5/50; B41M5/52; B41M5/5263; B41M5/5272; C; C08; C08G; C08G63/00; C08G63/02; C08G63/12; C08G63/16; C08G63/18; C08G63/19; C08G63/193; C08J; C08J5/00; C08J5/18; H; H01; H01B; H01B3/00; H01B3/18; H01B3/30; H01B3/42; H01B3/421; H01B3/422; H01B3/423; H01G; H01G4/00; H01G4/002; H01G4/018; H01G4/06; H01G4/14; H01G4/18; C08J2367/00; C08J2367/02; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S428/00; Y10S428/913; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/31504; Y10T428/31786

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim 93 words
A thermographic element comprising at least two layers, wherein: at least one of the layers comprises polymer, and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of one uniform film; and at least one of the layers is an imaging layer selected from the group consisting of dye-donor layers, image-receiving layers or heat-activatable imaging layers; and wherein said polymer-comprising layer further comprises less than about 5 weight percent of a slip compound.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 93 words
A thermographic element comprising at least two layers, wherein: at least one of the layers comprises polymer, and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of one uniform film; and at least one of the layers is an imaging layer selected from the group consisting of dye-donor layers, image-receiving layers or heat-activatable imaging layers; and wherein said polymer-comprising layer further comprises less than about 5 weight percent of a slip compound.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 1, wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 28 words
An element according to claim 1, wherein the slip compound is selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum silicate, calcium carbonate and fused silica.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 49 words
An element according to claim 1, wherein the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized, units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and a mixture of isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid where the mixtures range in composition from 70 to 30 weight percent isophthalic acid and 30 to 70 weight percent terephthalic acid.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 28 words
An element according to claim 1, wherein the polymer consists essentially of repeating, interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and an equimolar mixture of isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 69 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and a dye-donor layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the dye-donor layer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 69 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and a dye-donor layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the dye-donor layer.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 28 words
An element according to claim 6, further comprising a protective layer disposed directly on the surface of the substrate layer between the substrate layer and the dye-donor layer.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 6, wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 130 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer, a dye-donor layer and an antistick layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyesters other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on a major surface of the substrate layer is a dye-donor layer; and disposed on the other major surface of the substrate layer is an antistick layer comprising polymer, the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 130 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer, a dye-donor layer and an antistick layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyesters other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on a major surface of the substrate layer is a dye-donor layer; and disposed on the other major surface of the substrate layer is an antistick layer comprising polymer, the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 14 words
An element according to claim 9, wherein the antistick layer further comprises binder polymer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 44 words
An element according to claim 10, wherein the binder polymer is selected from the group consisting of polymethacrylates, polyvinyl stearates, polyesters, chlorinated polyvinyl chlorides, acrylonitriles, styrene, styrene-butadiene elastomers, ethylene-propylene elastomers, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-butyrol), poly(vinyl alcohol-co-acetal), polyvinyl acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate and ethyl cellulose.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 9 wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 70 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and an image-receiving layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises a polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of uniform film; and disposed on one of the other major surfaces of the substrate layer is the image-receiving layer.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 70 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and an image-receiving layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises a polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of uniform film; and disposed on one of the other major surfaces of the substrate layer is the image-receiving layer.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 28 words
An element according to claim 13, further comprising a protective layer disposed directly on the surface of the substrate layer between the substrate layer and the image-receiving layer.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 13 wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 117 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and an image-receiving layer wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyester other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer, is the image-receiving layer, which layer comprises polymer and the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 117 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and an image-receiving layer wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyester other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer, is the image-receiving layer, which layer comprises polymer and the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 16 wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim 71 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and a heat-activatable imaging layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film; and, disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the heat-activatable imaging layer.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim 71 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer and a heat-activatable imaging layer, wherein: the substrate layer comprises polymer and the polymer consists essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and is sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film; and, disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the heat-activatable imaging layer.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim 21 words
An element according to claim 18, further comprising an antistick layer disposed on an exposed surface of the heat-activatable imaging layer.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim 13 words
An element according to claim 19, wherein the antistick layer comprises the polymer.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim 14 words
An element according to claim 20, wherein the antistick layer further comprises binder polymer.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim 42 words
An element according to claim 21, wherein the binder polymer is selected from the group consisting of polymethacrylates, polyvinyl stearates, polyesters, chlorinated polyvinyl chlorides, acrylonitriles, styrene, styrene-butadiene elastomers, ethylene-propylene elastomers, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-butyrol), poly(vinyl alcohol-co-acetal), polyvinyl acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate and ethyl cellulose.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim 29 words
An element according to claim 18, further comprising a protective layer disposed directly on the surface of the substrate layer between the substrate layer and the heat-activatable imaging layer.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 18 wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim 133 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer, a heat-activatable imaging layer and antistick layer wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyesters other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the heat-activatable imaging layer; and disposed on an exposed surface of the heat-activatable imaging layer is the antistick layer comprising polymer, the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim 133 words
A thermographic element comprising at least a substrate layer, a heat-activatable imaging layer and antistick layer wherein: the substrate layer comprises a material selected from the group consisting of paper, filled or transparent films of polyesters other than polyester consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid or mixtures thereof, polysulphone, polystyrene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamide, cellulose ester and polyvinyl chloride; and disposed on one of the major surfaces of the substrate layer is the heat-activatable imaging layer; and disposed on an exposed surface of the heat-activatable imaging layer is the antistick layer comprising polymer, the polymer consisting essentially of repeating interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, therephthalic acid or mixtures thereof and being sufficiently low in oligomer content to allow formation of a uniform film.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim 16 words
An element according to claim 25 wherein the polymer has a polydispersivity of 2 to 4.
Claim 34
Independent Claim 52 words
A method of thermal transfer imaging, the process comprising the step of selectively transferring in an imagewise manner, an image-forming material from a dye donor element to a receptor element, the receptor element comprising polymer consisting essentially of repeating, interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid and mixtures thereof.
Claim 35
Independent Claim 52 words
A method of thermal transfer imaging, the process comprising the step of selectively transferring in an imagewise manner, an image-forming material from a dye donor element to a receptor element, the receptor element comprising polymer consisting essentially of repeating, interpolymerized units derived from 9,9-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-fluorene and isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid and mixtures thereof.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1997-06-06 1997-12-06 1998-06-07 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2001-06-06 2001-12-06 2002-06-07 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2005-06-06 2005-12-06 2006-06-07 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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