US 11,787,166 B2 · Fog development using a formative surface

Abstract

A formative surface having a conductive base covered with a dielectric and oleophobic/hydrophobic surface layer is created with defined pits to grow micro-puddles of a defined volume. The formative surface is brought into close proximity with a charge retentive surface carrying a charge image. Fountain solution vapor nucleates and grows preferentially on the base of the pits as micro-puddle droplets. The puddles are charged and extracted from the surface to provide a fog of charged droplets of narrow volume and charge distribution. The charged droplets are attracted and repelled respectively from the charged and discharged image regions of the charge retentive surface, thus developing the charged image into a fountain solution latent image. The developed latent image is then brought into contact with a transfer member blanket and split, thus creating on the blanket a fountain solution latent image ready for inking.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A fountain solution delivery device for delivering fountain solution onto a target having a charge-retentive surface bearing an electrostatic charged pattern of charged regions thereon, the delivery device comprising:

a fountain solution droplet generation member including a conductive layer having a reference potential, a dielectric layer above the conductive layer and an outer surface layer having a very low surface free energy material, the outer surface layer having pits patterned therein down to the dielectric layer to form a droplet generating patterned outer layer, the fountain solution droplet generation member being rotatable adjacent the target;
a fountain solution vaporizer in communication with the droplet generating patterned outer layer to deposit fountain solution vapor to the pits, wherein fountain solution in the pits nucleate on the dielectric layer to form fountain solution droplets in the pits;
and
a surface charger configured to charge the droplet generating patterned outer layer and at least one of the fountain solution vapor and the fountain solution droplets to form charged fountain solution droplets nucleated in the pits, wherein the charged fountain solution droplets proximate to the target transfer under attraction from the pits to the charge-retentive surface and form a patterned fountain solution latent image on the target based on the electrostatic charged pattern.

1 more element

An imaging system useful for printing with an ink-based image forming apparatus having a target rotatable imaging member with a charge-retentive surface bearing an electrostatic charged pattern of charged regions thereon, the system comprising:

an imager adjacent the charge-retentive surface that forms the electrostatic charged pattern on the surface;
a fountain solution droplet generation member including a conductive layer having a reference potential, a dielectric layer wrapped around the conductive layer and a perfluorinated material outer surface layer, the outer surface layer having pits patterned therein down to the dielectric layer to form a droplet generating patterned outer layer, the fountain solution droplet generation member being rotatable adjacent the target;
a fountain solution vaporizer in communication with the droplet generating patterned outer layer to deposit fountain solution vapor to the pits, wherein fountain solution in the pits nucleate on the dielectric layer to form fountain solution droplets in the pits;
and
a surface charger configured to charge the droplet generating patterned outer layer and at least one of the fountain solution vapor and the fountain solution droplets to form charged fountain solution droplets nucleated in the pits, wherein the charged droplets in the pits proximate to the target transfer under attraction to attach to the charge-retentive surface and form a patterned fountain solution latent image on the target based on the electrostatic charged pattern.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Fog development using a formative surface

Life of this patent

Fog development using a formative surface

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20