Systems for erasing an ink from a medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9770932-B2
Application number	US-201615051613-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2016
Priority date	Jun 3, 2011
Publication date	Sep 26, 2017
Grant date	Sep 26, 2017

Abstract

A system for erasing an ink from a medium includes the medium having the ink printed on a surface thereof, and an erasure fluid directly or indirectly applied to the surface, wherein the medium further includes another surface opposed to the surface upon which the ink is printed. An electrochemical cell includes an anode and a cathode. The anode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material is positioned adjacent to one of: the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed, or the other surface of the medium. The cathode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material is positioned adjacent to another of: the other surface of the medium, or the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed. The system further includes a power source to apply a voltage across the medium.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for erasing an ink from a medium, comprising:
the medium having the ink printed on a surface thereof, and
an erasure fluid applied to the surface,
wherein the medium further includes an other surface opposed to the surface upon which the ink is printed; and
an electrochemical cell, including:
an anode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material, the anode being positioned adjacent to one of: the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed, or the other surface of the medium;
a cathode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material, the cathode being positioned adjacent to an other of: the other surface of the medium, or the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed; and
a power source to apply a voltage across the medium,

wherein the erasure fluid is applied to the surface of the medium by:
coating the erasure fluid on a surface of the cathode and the anode; and
transferring the erasure fluid from the surface of the cathode and the anode to the surface and the other surface of the medium when the cathode and the anode contact the medium.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the anode and the cathode each take the form of a brush including a plurality of fibers, each of the plurality of fibers having an effective diameter ranging from about 10 microns to about 2 mm.

3. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the anode and the cathode are each a strand or a cable wound around respective non-conductive supports.

4. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the anode and the cathode are each a fabric or a foam disposed on a non-conductive support.

5. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein:
the ink includes a colorant that chemically reacts with an erasure component of the erasure fluid;
the electrochemical cell facilitates or assists a chemical reaction between the colorant and the erasure component; and as
a result of the chemical reaction, the colorant changes and de-colorizes.

6. A method of making the system of claim 1 , comprising:
applying the erasure fluid to the medium having the ink printed thereon such that the erasure fluid penetrates through a thickness of the medium; and
creating the electrochemical cell by:
positioning the semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing anode adjacent to one of: the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed, or the other surface of the medium;
positioning the semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing cathode adjacent to the other of: the other surface of the medium, or the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed; and
connecting the anode and the cathode to a power supply.

7. The method as defined in claim 6 , further comprising applying a voltage between the cathode and the anode to facilitate or assist a chemical reaction between a colorant in the ink and an erasure component in the erasure fluid, thereby changing and de-colorizing the colorant.

8. A method of making a system, comprising:
creating an electrochemical cell by:
positioning a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing anode adjacent to one of: a surface of a medium upon which an ink is printed, or an other surface of the medium opposed to the surface upon which the ink is printed;
positioning a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing cathode adjacent to the other of: the other surface of the medium, or the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed; and
connecting the anode and the cathode to a power supply; and
indirectly applying the erasure fluid to the surface of the medium having the ink printed thereon such that the erasure fluid penetrates through a thickness of the medium,
wherein the erasure fluid is indirectly applied to the surface of the medium by:
coating the erasure fluid on a surface of the cathode and the anode; and
transferring the erasure fluid from the surface of the cathode and the anode to the surface and the other surface of the medium when the cathode and the anode contact the medium.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 , further comprising applying a voltage between the cathode and the anode to facilitate or assist a chemical reaction between a colorant in the ink and an erasure component in the erasure fluid, thereby changing and de-colorizing the colorant.

10. The method as defined in claim 8 wherein the erasure fluid is transferred from the surface of the cathode and the anode when the cathode and the anode are positioned adjacent to the respective surfaces of the medium.

11. A system for erasing an ink from a medium, comprising:
the medium having the ink printed on a surface thereof, wherein the medium further includes an other surface opposed to the surface upon which the ink is printed;
an electrochemical cell, including:
an anode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material, the anode being positioned adjacent to one of: the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed, or the other surface of the medium;
a cathode formed from a semi-conductive or conductive carbon-containing material, the cathode being positioned adjacent to an other of: the other surface of the medium, or the surface of the medium upon which the ink is printed; and
a power source to apply a voltage across the medium; and

an erasure fluid applied to the respective surfaces of the anode and the cathode and to be transferred from the respective surfaces to the surface and the other surface of the medium when the cathode and anode contact the medium.

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co Lp

Inventors

• Adamic Raymond

Classifications

• B41J2/2114

  Ejecting specialized liquids, e.g. transparent or processing liquids (B41J2/211 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B41M7/0009 Primary

  Obliterating the printed matter; Non-destructive removal of the ink pattern, e.g. for repetitive use of the support · CPC title

• B41J29/36

  for cancelling or correcting errors by overprinting · CPC title