Patent ID: 7215908

Claim:
A method of operating an electrostatographic printing apparatus, comprising: applying an electrical bias to a charge-retentive member of the electrostatographic printing apparatus, said charge-retentive member defining an image surface, the electrostatographic printing apparatus further including a charging device for placing a charge on the imaging surface, a gap existing between the imaging surface and the charging device, said applying including generating a burst modulated waveform, wherein the generating includes employing a DC offset superimposed on an AC waveform, and the applying includes generating a first AC waveform carrier frequency over a time t 1 during which the AC waveform is gated on and a second AC waveform burst frequency over a time t 2 during which the AC waveform is gated on and off, wherein the average AC current over time t 2 is less than the AC current over time t 1 .