Patent ID: 6134095
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: G03G,H01T

Abstract:
A corona charger for uniformly charging a dielectric member, of an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus, moving along a travel path in operative relation to said corona charger at a speed in the range of about 4.5 to 18 inches per second, said corona charger comprising:an element for producing, on electrical excitation, a corona emission;an insulating housing at least partially surrounding said element and defining an opening in a direction facing the surface of said dielectric member;an AC power source connected to said element, which when activated serves to excite said element to produce the corona emission; andan electrically biased grid, in said opening of said housing, for controlling uniform charging of said dielectric member, said grid having a plurality of grid elements lying in a direction cross-track to the direction of travel of said dielectric member, the spacing between said grid elements decreasing substantially in the direction of travel of said dielectric member such that the upstream portion of said grid is more transparent, and the downstream portion is less transparent, and said spacing is divided into discrete steps.