Agfa-gevaert

Agfa Gevaert Nv

Jacques Victor Leonard

Guido Vital Desie

Hilbrand Leopold Van Den Wijngaert

Ludo Joly

Dirk K Broddin

Andre Van Geyte

Serge M Tavernier

Luc K Van Aken

Peter Bourbon

Raf Peymen

Alex M Van Der Poel

Francedillaois Backeljauw

Danny Van Gemert

Frans Backaljauw

A large format single pass printer, having a printing width (PW) for printing a toner image on a substrate, the substrate having a width (WS) and a length (LS), comprising a printhead structure with an array of printing apertures, with length, L,, and control electrodes associated therewith, a charged toner conveyer, CTC, with a length, L,&gE;L,and a number n, equal to or larger than 2, of toner applicators with width PWE,<L,for applying charged toner particles to said CTC, said number n being chosen such that

Device for large format printing comprising a single central conditioning unit for controlling and monitoring the condition of the developer

A single pass printer, having a printing width (PW) is provided or printing a toner image on a substrate, the substrate having a width (WS) and a length (LS), wherein, i) a number n, equal to or larger than 2, of printing engines, each containing a toner transferring element with a longitudinal axis (width (WPE)) smaller than the printing width (PW) are present, and at least two of the n printing engines, each containing a toner transferring element with a longitudinal axis in the direction of width (WPE), are located so that the longitudinal axis do not coincide. Preferably the printing engines are electro(stato)graphic engines, especially Direct Electrostatic Printing (DEP) engines or electrophotographic engines.

Printer for large format printing

A direct electrostatic printing device includes a printhead structure with apertures and control electrodes associated with the apertures for delivering toner from a toner source to a substrate in accordance with image data. A first voltage source is provided to establish a flow of toner particles from the toner source to the substrate. A second voltage source is provided to establish a control voltage between the toner source and the control electrodes to control toner flow in accordance with the image data. The second voltage source provides a first AC field between a toner source and the control electrodes to permit toner flow and a second, diminished, AC field between the toner source and the control electrodes in order to stop the toner flow.

Device for direct electrostatic printing with a conventional printhead

A printer, with printing width (PW), is provided, for printing toner image on a substrate, having a width (WS) and a length (LS), comprising a DEP printing engine, having

Printer for large format printing using a direct electrostatic printing

A single pass printer, having a printing width (PW) is provided for printing a toner image on a substrate, the substrate having a width (WS) and a length (LS), wherein, i) a number n, equal to or larger than 2, of printing engines, each containing a toner transferring element with a longitudinal axis (width (WPE)) smaller than the printing width (PW) are present, and at least two of the n printing engines, each containing a toner transferring element with a longitudinal axis in the direction of width (WPE), are located so that the longitudinal axis do not coincide. Preferably the printing engines are electro(stato)graphic engines, especially Direct Electrostatic Printing (DEP) engines or electrophotographic engines.

A printhead structure is provided comprising individual control electrodes (106a) in combination with printing apertures (107) and a shield electrode (106b), both electrodes separated by an insulating material wherein both the shield electrode and the control electrodes have openings and either the shield electrode or each of the control electrodes does not reach as far as the edges of the printing apertures. The linear dimension of the openings in the shield electrode or in each of the control electrodes is at least 1.1 times larger than the longest linear dimension of each of the printing apertures present in the openings. A DEP device using such a printhead structure is also disclosed.

Printhead structure having electrodes not extending to the edge of

A device for use in the technique of direct electrostatic printing (DEP) on an intermediate or final substrate is described, comprising a receiving member support 5 having control back electrodes 5b and a common shield back electrode 5a; a printhead structure 6 having control print electrodes 6a in combination with apertures 7 and a common shield print electrode 6b; a toner delivery means 1 presenting a cloud 4 of toner particles in the vicinity of said apertures 7. The control print electrodes 6a in the printhead structure 6 and the control back electrodes 5b in the receiving member support 5 are positioned in a 1 to 1 relationship, and the control electrodes of both the printhead structure 6 and the receiving member support 5 are driven in an imagewise manner by a variable voltage source, in order to get a specific toner density on the receiving member substrate 9.

Device for direct electrostatic print (DEP) comprising individual

A DEP device is provided that comprises a back electrode (105), a printhead structure (106), an array of printing apertures (107) in the printhead structure (106) through which a particle flow can be electrically modulated by a control electrode (106a), a toner delivery means (101), presenting a cloud (100) of dry toner particles in the vicinity of the apertures (107), characterized in that the toner cloud (100) is formed in the vicinity of the apertures (107) by means of a gas stream. The toner cloud is formed by detaching toner particles from a charged toner conveyer by the gas stream, or by forming a fluidized bed of toner particles.

Direct electrostatic printing device which uses a gas stream to provide

A printer, with printing width (PW) of at least 30 cm printing a toner image on a large substrate, having a width (WS) and a length (LS), including a latent image bearing member having a width (WLI) equal to or larger than the printing width and at least two means for delivering toner are arranged in a staggered configuration around the latent image bearing member and each having a width (WTD) smaller than the width (WLI) of the latent image bearing member. Preferably the latent image bearing member is a photoconductive member. A printer with a shuttle having a swath width of at least 30 cm is also disclosed.

An apparatus for direct electrostatic printing includes a back electrode and a printhead structure having a plastic insulating layer and printing apertures arranged therein. Individual control electrodes are combined with the printing apertures on a first side of the insulating layer, and a shield electrode is combined with the printing apertures on a second side of the insulating layer. A toner delivery apparatus is also included for delivering a cloud of dry toner particles in the vicinity of the printing apertures. The printing apertures are constructed and arranged such that, when applying a potential difference of 200V between the shield electrode and each individual control electrode, a current of no more that 50 .mu.A flows from each individual control electrode to the corresponding shield electrode through the corresponding printing aperture. Methods for forming the printing apertures in such a printhead are also disclosed.

Direct electrostatic printing device (Dep) and printhead structure with

A device for direct electrostatic printing (DEP) including a back electrode, a printhead structure made from an insulating material and having a control electrode in combination with printing apertures, and a toner delivery apparatus that presents a cloud of toner particles in the vicinity of the printing apertures, in which the printhead structure is tightly stretched over a frame by means of lateral forces and the printhead structure has an overall flatness equal to or better than 50 .mu.m.

DEP (direct electrostatic printing) device with special printhead

A scanning apparatus for linewise reproducing an image on one face of a transparent image carrier onto light-sensitive means, which comprises support means (10) defining a support surface for the image carrier (12), an elongated light source (21b), a rod-like aspherical lens (23) disposed between said light source (21b) and said support means (10) for focussing said elongated light source onto an image carrier located on said support means, the characteristics of said lens (23) and its position with respect to said support means being such that the illuminating angle (.alpha.) of an image carrier on said support means (10) is at least 20 angular degrees and that light intensity variations over said angle are smaller than 15%, and an imaging lens (26) for forming an image of a scanned line (24) of an image on said carrier onto said light-sensitive means.

Scratch-suppressing scanning apparatus with aspherical lens

A vacuum table (10) for holding a document in position e.g. during scanning comprises a supporting surface (11) and a vacuum distribution line (13) which, in the absence of such a document, is in gas flow communication with the ambient atmosphere over a vacuum zone (A, B, C, D) on the table surface (11) via an array of openings (12) distributed over that surface. The table (10) further comprises means (20) such as a flexible curtain for obstructing such gas flow communication over a selected length of such array of openings (12) whereby the length (A, B) of the vacuum zone (A, B, C, D) may be matched to the length of a said document, and means (32) for selectively obstructing such gas flow communication over the width of the array whereby the width (B, C) of the vacuum zone may be matched to the width of such document.

Document scanner and vacuum table therefor

A device for reading of (a) location(s) on an image on a transparent support and an apparatus for scanning and digitizing at least part of said image defined by said location(s) on the transparent support.

Coordinate determining device

A scanner having a carriage (13) with a glass plate (52) for supporting an original document to be scanned while moving past an exposure opening, in which the glass plate is vertically displaceable against yieldable supporting springs mounted on a frame (47) of the carriage and is downwardly biased into contact with two lateral guide wheels (71,72) that are provided near the lateral ends of the exposure opening.

Growing community of inventors

Antwerp, Belgium

Jacques Victor Leonard