The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 24, 1998
Filed:
Jun. 30, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
David B Montfort, Webster, NY (US);
Nero R Lindblad, Ontario, NY (US);
Assignee:
Xerox Corporation, Stamford, CT (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
399349 ; 152565 ; 399351 ;
Abstract
A printing machine and apparatus are disclosed that include an ultrasonically assisted cleaning blade to remove toner particles from an imaging surface. An ultrasonic transducer is attached to the cleaning blade to provide vibrational energy to the cleaning blade. The ultrasonic transducer concentrates vibrational energy at the blade tip for enhanced cleaning. A further element of the present invention is the addition of bias to create a strong electrostatic repulsion between the toner particles and the blade tip causing the toner to explode away from the cleaning edge, and to therefore enhance cleaning.