Xerox Corporation

Man C Tam

Arnold L Pundsack

Gregory J Kovacs

Rafik O Loutfy

Edward Graham Zwartz

Naveen Chopra

Carol A Jennings

Peter Michael Kazmaier

Hardy Sonnenberg

Philip H Soden

Daniel Bihon

John F Yanus

Damodar M Pai

Ah-Mee Hor

William W Limburg

Hadi K Mahabadi

Sandra J Gardner

Dale S Renfer

Francisco Eduardo Torres

Robert W Gundlach

Thomas Edward Enright

T Hwee Ng

San-Ming Yang

Robert J Kleckner

Arthur Y Jones

Sophie V Vandebroek

Marie-Eve Perron

Ahmed Alzamly

Liqin Chen

Paul S Vincett

Enrique Levy

Michael G Taylor

Brian D Lesser

Steven Georges

Christopher Rodgers

Hany M Aboushaka

Judith P Meester

Steven Bloembergen

Eric M Peters

Sammy Yh Ro

Ronald Forstinger

A display member having improved optical contrast and brightness. The display member includes bichromal capsules, an absorptive layer, an adhesive layer, a substrate and a top layer. The bichromal capsules form a close-packed monolayer configuration positioned on the absorptive layer. The adhesive layer is adjacent to the absorptive layer. The absorptive layer is formed on the substrate. The top layer is formed adjacent the adhesive layer. A method for producing a display member with high optical contrast and brightness. The method includes forming an absorptive layer on a substrate. A close-packed monolayer configuration of bichromal capsules is formed on the absorptive layer by exposing the absorptive layer to a plurality of bichromal capsules. A top layer is formed adjacent the adhesive layer.

Contrast enhancement in multichromal display by incorporating a highly absorptive layer

An anisotropic conductive film includes a release layer, an insulating adhesive matrix on the release layer, and conductive particles distributed in the matrix in a substantially uniform pattern. The film may also include a patterned adhesive layer on the release layer, so that the particles are positioned in a pattern that substantially corresponds to the pattern of the patterned adhesive layer.

Adhesive film exhibiting anisotropic electrical conductivity

A method for producing a display capsule includes the following steps. A multichromal bead having at least two surfaces differing from each other in optical and electrical characteristics is formed. A dispersing agent on an outer surface of the multichromal bead is applied, preferably via spray coating. The multichromal bead is then encapsulated. The invention is also directed to a method for producing multichromal capsules. A multichromal bead having at least two surfaces differing from each other in optical and electrical characteristics and further includes a charge control additive. A dispersing agent is applied on an outer surface of the multichromal bead to prevent diffusion of the charge control additive from the multichromal bead. The multichromal bead is encapsulated at an encapsulation reaction temperature greater than 40&#xb0; C.

Display capsules and a method of manufacturing thereof

A dynamic reimageable document or electric paper can be formed from ordinary substrates such as paper, transparencies or fabric by printing of microencapsulated Gyricon beads onto one or more discrete surface areas of the substrate. The substrate can include both fixed print regions formed by conventional fixed ink processes and dynamic reimageable regions formed by the Gyricon beads. The Gyricon beads are preferably bichromal and of contrasting colors, such as black/white so as to be changeable to display two states by selective application of electromagnetic force to the beads. By providing bichromal beads in differing color combinations, such as red/white and black/white, a multi-colored document can be achieved in which various fields of the document, representing text, images or graphics, may be in differing colors. Moreover, operations to perform both imaging or erasure can act on the discrete reimageable regions so that the versatility of the electric paper can be enhanced. The Gyricon beads may be dispersed in a solution to form a liquid Gyricon toner that can be directly marked, such as by a jet nozzle, into a desired pattern on the substrate.

Colored cyber toner using multicolored gyricon spheres

Disclosed is a process which comprises (a) providing a migration imaging member comprising (1) a substrate, (2) an infrared or red light radiation sensitive layer comprising a pigment predominantly sensitive to infrared or red light radiation, and (3) a softenable layer comprising a softenable material, a charge transport material, and a photosensitive migration marking material predominantly sensitive to radiation at a wavelength other than that to which the infrared or red light sensitive pigment is predominantly sensitive; (b) uniformly charging the imaging member; (c) subsequent to step (b), uniformly exposing the charged imaging member to a source of activating radiation with a wavelength to which the migration marking material is sensitive, wherein a filter comprising the infrared or red light radiation sensitive pigment is situated between the radiation source and the imaging member; (d) subsequent to step (b), exposing the imaging member to infrared or red light radiation at a wavelength to which the infrared or red light radiation sensitive pigment is sensitive in an imagewise pattern, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the imaging member; and (e) subsequent to steps (c) and (d), causing the softenable material to soften, thereby enabling the migration marking material to migrate through the softenable material toward the substrate in an imagewise pattern.

Migration imaging process

Disclosed is a process for preparing copolymers which comprises, in the order stated: (1) adding monomers containing unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds, a first polymerization initiator, a second polymerization initiator, and a solvent to a reaction vessel; (2) purging the resulting solution with an inert gas; (3) sealing the reaction vessel and pressurizing it by addition of an inert gas to a pressure of from about 20 to about 600 kilopascals over ambient atmospheric pressure; (4) maintaining the temperature within the pressurized reaction vessel at a temperature of from about 50 to about 100.degree. C. for a period of from about 60 to about 300 minutes; (5) thereafter maintaining the temperature within the pressurized reaction vessel at a temperature of from about 80 to about 115.degree. C. for a period of from about 30 to about 300 minutes, wherein the temperature in step (5) is higher than the temperature in step (4); and (6) subsequently maintaining the temperature within the pressurized reaction vessel at a temperature of from about 115 to about 160.degree. C. for a period of from about 30 to about 180 minutes, wherein the temperature in step (6) is higher than the temperature in step (5). Polymers prepared according to the process of the present invention can be particularly useful in migration imaging members.

Processes for preparing copolymers

Methods and techniques of electrically biasing and providing a ground for migration imaging members are disclosed. An electrically conductive contact is fixed to the migration imaging member, the electrically conductive contact connecting at least an electrically conductive layer of the migration imaging member to a ground to insure proper imaging. The contacts are fixed to the migration imaging member without having to remove a portion of the softenable layer along its edge to expose the electrically conductive layer of the migration imaging member as is the current practice.

Method and apparatus for grounding migration imaging members

Disclosed is a migration imaging member which comprises (a) a substrate, (b) a conductive layer comprising indium tin oxide dispersed in a polymeric binder, (c) a siloxane film charge blocking layer comprising a hydrolysis reaction product of a silane of the formula ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 is an alkylidene group, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are each, independent of the other, a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a phenyl group, or a poly(ethyleneamino) group, and R.sub.4, R.sub.5, and R.sub.6 are each, independent of the others, alkyl groups, said siloxane having reactive hydroxyl and ammonium groups attached to silicon atoms, and (d) a softenable layer comprising a softenable material and a photosensitive migration marking material. Optionally an antistatic layer comprising indium tin oxide dispersed in a polymeric binder is situated on the surface of the substrate spaced from the softenable layer.

Migration imaging members

Disclosed is a migration imaging member comprising a substrate, a first softenable layer comprising a first softenable material and a first migration marking material contained at or near the surface of the first softenable layer spaced from the substrate, and a second softenable layer comprising a second softenable material and a second migration marking material. Also disclosed is a migration imaging process employing the aforesaid imaging member.

Disclosed is a process which comprises (1) providing a migration imaging member comprising a substrate, an infrared or red light radiation sensitive layer comprising a pigment predominantly sensitive to infrared or red light radiation, and a softenable layer comprising a softenable material, a charge transport material, and migration marking material predominantly sensitive to radiation at a wavelength other than that to which the infrared or red light sensitive pigment is predominantly sensitive contained at or near the surface of the softenable layer, said infrared or red light radiation sensitive layer being situated between the substrate and the softenable layer; (2) uniformly charging the imaging member; (3) subsequent to step (2), uniformly exposing the imaging member to activating radiation at a wavelength to which the migration marking material is sensitive; (4) subsequent to step (3), neutralizing charge on the surface of the imaging member spaced from the substrate; (5) subsequent to step (4), exposing the imaging member to infrared or red light radiation at a wavelength to which the infrared or red light radiation sensitive pigment is sensitive in an imagewise pattern, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the imaging member, wherein step (5) takes place at least 2 hours after completion of step (4); (6) subsequent to step (5), causing the softenable material to soften, thereby enabling the migration marking material to migrate through the softenable material toward the substrate in an imagewise pattern.

Pre-sensitized infrared or red light sensitive migration imaging members

A process and apparatus for preparing migration imaging members are disclosed. Two substrates with softenable layers applied to them travel through a vacuum chamber where they are simultaneously exposed to vapor deposition of the migration marking material. After the migration marking material is deposited, the two softenable layers are laminated together in the same vacuum chamber to form the migration imaging member. In one of the embodiments, the softenable layers are applied to the substrates in the same sweep of the substrate through the vacuum chamber vapor deposition and lamination steps.

Process and apparatus for manufacturing migration imaging members

Disclosed is a process which comprises (a) providing a migration imaging member which comprises a substrate and a softenable layer comprising a softenable material and a photosensitive migration marking material; (b) providing a printing plate precursor which comprises a base layer and a layer of photosensitive material selected from the group consisting of photohardenable materials and photosoftenable materials; (c) placing the softenable layer of the migration imaging member in contact with the layer of photosensitive material of the printing plate precursor and applying heat and pressure to the migration imaging member and printing plate precursor, thereby causing the softenable layer of the migration imaging member to adhere to the layer of photosensitive material of the printing plate precursor; (d) uniformly charging the migration imaging member; (e) subsequent to step (d), exposing the charged imaging member to activating radiation at a wavelength to which the migration marking material is sensitive; (f) subsequent to step (e), causing the softenable material to soften and enabling the migration marking material to migrate through the softenable material in an imagewise pattern, thereby resulting in the layer of softenable material becoming transmissive to light in areas where the migration marking material has migrated and remaining nontransmissive to light in areas where the migration marking material has not migrated; (g) subsequent to step (f), uniformly exposing the migration imaging member and the printing plate precursor to radiation at a wavelength to which the photosensitive material on the printing plate precursor is sensitive, thereby causing the photosensitive material on the printing plate precursor to harden or soften in areas situated contiguous with light-transmissive areas of the softenable layer, thereby forming an imaged printing plate; and (h) subsequent to step (g), removing the migration imaging member from the imaged printing plate.

Printing plate preparation process

Disclosed is an apparatus for heat development of a migration imaging member containing migration marking material and a softenable material capable of softening upon exposure to heat at a development temperature, which apparatus comprises a heating source, a conveyance means for conveying the migration imaging member past the heating source, a first pinch roller in contact with the conveyance means, and a second pinch roller in contact with the conveyance means, wherein the imaging member passes through a nip between the conveyance means and the first pinch roller subsequent to entering the apparatus and prior to exposure to the heating source and passes through a nip between the conveyance means and the second pinch roller subsequent to exposure to the heating source and prior to exiting the apparatus, wherein the surface temperature of the first pinch roller is maintained at a temperature at least 20.degree. C. below the development temperature of the migration imaging member during the period in which the first pinch roller contacts the migration imaging member, wherein the surface temperature of the second pinch roller is maintained at a temperature at least 20.degree. C. below the development temperature of the migration imaging member during the period in which the second pinch roller contacts the migration imaging member, and wherein the heating source is maintained at the development temperature of the migration imaging member during development.

Heat development process of migration imaging members

Disclosed is a migration imaging member comprising a substrate, an infrared or red light radiation sensitive layer comprising a pigment predominantly sensitive to infrared or red light radiation, and a softenable layer comprising a softenable material, a charge transport material, and migration marking material predominantly sensitive to radiation at a wavelength other than that to which the infrared or red light radiation sensitive pigment is sensitive contained at or near the surface of the softenable layer. When the migration imaging member is imaged and developed, it is particularly suitable for use as a xeroprinting master and can also be used for viewing or for storing data.

Growing community of inventors

Mississauga, Canada

Man C Tam