Claims
- 1. A toner applicator for an electrostatic recorder or copier comprising:
- a toner applicator body having a length spanning the entire width of a recording medium, and having a toning channel extending across a portion of said applicator body in the lengthwise direction in fluid communication with said recording medium for applying toner thereto, said toning channel spanning the entire width of said recording medium except for border regions at the edge of said recording medium,
- a first air channel in said toner applicator body, said first channel peripherally surrounding the two opposing widthwise sides and one of the lengthwise sides of said toning channel,
- a toner drain channel extending in the lengthwise direction across said toner applicator body for draining toner from said toning channel, said drain channel bordering eh other lengthwise side of said toning channel,
- an air knife integral to said toner applicator body, said air knife having a sharp edge extending in the lengthwise direction across said toner applicator body for removing excess toner from said recording medium with a high velocity air flow, said air knife having a second air channel extending lengthwise across said applicator body, said second air channel arranged such that said drain channel is disposed between said second air channel and said toning channel and such that said first and second air channels are in communication and peripherally surround said toning channel, and
- air supply means for expelling air through said first and second air channels surrounding said toning channel such that said toner is confined within said toning channel, said air expelled from said second air channel also removing said excess toner from said recording medium as said recording medium passes over said second air channel, such that said excess toner is directed into said toner drain channel.
- 2. The toner applicator of claim 1 wherein said recording medium is held at a distance of approximately 3 to 10 thousandths of an inch from said air knife.
- 3. The toner applicator of claim 1 wherein said toning channel also extends in a widthwise direction across said applicator body such that said toning applicator is a full width applicator.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 07/930,779 filed Aug. 17, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,455.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
930779 |
Aug 1992 |
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