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:
Aug. 01, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 21, 1998
Donald B Richardson, Jr, Atkinson, NH (US);
Robert D Olenio, North Andover, MA (US);
Jeffrey Knox, Lynnfield, MA (US);
Nicholas Stefanidakis, Milton, MA (US);
Behrouz Abedian, Lincoln, MA (US);
Agfa Corporation, Wilmington, MA (US);
Abstract
A vacuum system can remove ablated particles from an internal drum platesetter which has a drum for supporting a photosensitive medium, a carriage moveable in a direction parallel to a longitudinal axis of the drum, and a laser mounted onto the moveable carriage for generating a beam to create an image on the medium during movement of the carriage, the beam ablating particles of the medium during creation of the image. The vacuum system includes: a vacuum head fixedly attached to the moveable carriage, and having at least one chamber for receiving the ablated particles through a slot located proximate to a periphery of the vacuum head; and an exhaust system connected to the vacuum head and including ductwork, at least one fan and at least one filter, for extracting the ablated particles from the at least one chamber of the vacuum head. The vacuum system also includes a hose capable of expanding and retracting in length to accommodate the movement of the vacuum head, and an internal duct support system for supporting the hose during expansion and retraction to prevent sagging of the hose. A swivel connection can be located at one or both ends of the hose to accommodate rotational movement of the hose during expansion and retraction.