Patents by Inventor Louis J. Gerenser
Louis J. Gerenser has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 6603121Abstract: An apparatus for treating paper web materials with a plasma, said apparatus comprising a dark space generated by a treatment electrode in a treatment zone. There is a counter electrode having a surface area in said treatment zone which is not greater than a surface area of said counter electrode. A power supply is included for driving either said treatment electrode or said counter electrode with an oscillating high voltage at a frequency less than about 2 MHz and greater than 1/tc where tc is the charging time of a web surface exposed to a rms ion current in the plasma.Type: GrantFiled: September 19, 2002Date of Patent: August 5, 2003Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Christine J. Landry-Coltrain, Kurt D. Sieber, Michael J. Heinsler, Dennis R. Freeman
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Patent number: 6565930Abstract: A method and apparatus are taught for treating paper webs for obtaining the proper surface characteristics to promote adhesion of nonphotosensitive coating materials and/or layers typically coated thereon. The web is passed through a high-voltage sheath region or dark space of the plasma generated by a powered electrode residing in a discharge zone. The frequency of the driving voltage must be above a lower bound dictated by the properties of the paper support and the plasma, and it must be below an upper bound beyond which the sheath voltages drop significantly and it is observed that the benefits of this approach diminish. The dark space is generated by a treatment electrode in a treatment zone. There is a counter electrode having a surface area in said treatment zone which is at least as great as the surface area of the treatment electrode.Type: GrantFiled: May 19, 2000Date of Patent: May 20, 2003Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Christine J. Landry-Coltrain, Kurt D. Sieber, Michael J. Heinsler, Dennis R. Freeman
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Publication number: 20030030000Abstract: An apparatus for treating paper web materials with a plasma, said apparatus comprising a dark space generated by a treatment electrode in a treatment zone. There is a counter electrode having a surface area in said treatment zone which is not greater than a surface area of said counter electrode. A power supply is included for driving either said treatment electrode or said counter electrode with an oscillating high voltage at a frequency less than about 2 MHz and greater than 1/tc where tc is the charging time of a web surface exposed to a rms ion current in the plasma.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 19, 2002Publication date: February 13, 2003Inventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Christine J. Landry-Coltrain, Kurt D. Sieber, Michael J. Heinsler, Dennis R. Freeman
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Patent number: 6399159Abstract: A method and apparatus are taught for treating polyolefin containing or polyolefin-coated webs or laminates for obtaining the proper surface characteristics to promote adhesion of photosensitive coating materials and/or layers typically coated thereon. The web is passed through a high-voltage sheath region or dark space of the plasma generated by a powered electrode residing in a discharge zone. The frequency of the driving voltage must be above a lower bound dictated by the properties of the paper support and the plasma, and it must be below an upper bound beyond which the sheath voltages drop significantly and it is observed that the benefits of this approach diminish. The dark space is generated by a treatment electrode in a treatment zone. There is a counter electrode having a surface area in said treatment zone which is at least as great as the surface area of the treatment electrode.Type: GrantFiled: May 19, 2000Date of Patent: June 4, 2002Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Kurt D. Sieber, Michael J. Heinsler, Hengzhong K. Zhuang, Dennis R. Freeman, Mark M. Romach
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Patent number: 6235459Abstract: An imaging support element comprising a polymeric film support and a thermally stable single subbing layer is made by forming a coating over the polymeric film support, the coating having a surface including amine reactive groups in a density of at least 1010 per cm2 and then heat treating the polymeric film support with the coating thereon at a temperature in the range of from about 50° C. below the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric support up to the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric support. The polymeric film support is nitrogen plasma treated. The layer is preferably formed by coating a monomer solution on the nitrogen plasma treated polymer support wherein the coated monomer has at least two vinyl sulfone groups which provide the amine reactive groups. Alternatively, the layer may be formed by applying to the polymeric support web a coating including at least one non-amine reactive comonomer and at least one comonomer having amine reactive side groups.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 1999Date of Patent: May 22, 2001Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Wayne A. Bowman, Elizabeth G. Burns, Richard A. Castle, David M. Teegarden
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Patent number: 6190842Abstract: An imaging support element comprising a polymeric film support and a thermally stable single subbing layer is made by forming a coating over the polymeric film support, the coating having a surface including amine reactive groups in a density of at least 1010 per cm2 and then heat treating the polymeric film support with the coating thereon at a temperature in the range of from about 50° C. below the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric support up to the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymeric support. The polymeric film support is nitrogen plasma treated. The layer is formed by applying to the polymeric support web a coating including at least one non-amine reactive comonomer and at least one comonomer having amine reactive side groups.Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 1999Date of Patent: February 20, 2001Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Wayne A. Bowman, Elizabeth G. Burns, Richard A. Castle, David M. Teegarden
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Patent number: 6149985Abstract: A method and apparatus are taught for treating polymer webs for obtaining the proper surface characteristics to promote adhesion of photosensitive coating materials and/or layers typically coated thereon. The web is passed through a high-voltage sheath region or dark space of the plasma generated by a powered electrode residing in a discharge zone. The frequency of the driving voltage must be above a lower bound dictated by the properties of the polymer support and the plasma, and it must be below an upper bound beyond which the sheath voltages drop significantly and it is observed that the benefits of this approach diminish. The dark space is generated by a treatment electrode in a treatment zone. There is a counter electrode having a surface area in said treatment zone which is at least as great as the surface area of the treatment electrode. A power supply is included for driving the treatment electrode with an oscillating high voltage at a frequency less than about 2 MHz and greater than 1/t.sub.Type: GrantFiled: July 7, 1999Date of Patent: November 21, 2000Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser
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Patent number: 5968646Abstract: The present invention comprises a polyester film support in which the surface has been subjected to an energetic treatment with nitrogen plasma to produce amine groups on the polyester surface. The treated surface is then coated with a dilute solution of amine reactive hardener and gelatin. After drying the hardener/gelatin coated support a photographic emulsion is coated on the surface. The resulting film element has excellent adhesion of the photographic emulsion after photoprocessing, and it is safer to coat and handle than previously known methods involving grafting of hardener directly to the support.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 1996Date of Patent: October 19, 1999Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Richard A. Castle, Janglin Chen, Edgar E. Riecke
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Patent number: 5700577Abstract: The present invention is a biaxially oriented polyester film support in which the surface has been subjected to an energetic treatment to produce amine groups on the polyester surface. The treated surface is then coated with a dilute amine reactive hardener solution. After drying the hardener solution a photographic emulsion is coated to the surface. The resulting film element has better adhesion of the photographic emulsion after photoprocessing than previous known methods.Type: GrantFiled: April 24, 1996Date of Patent: December 23, 1997Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Janglin Chen, Edgar E. Riecke
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Patent number: 5618659Abstract: The present invention is a polyester film base which has a surface approximately 5 nm thick. The surface of the film base has been altered to include about 6 to 15 atomic percent nitrogen in the form of imines, secondary amines and primary amines in the ratio of about 1:1:2. The invention also includes a film base whose surface includes oxygen in the form of hydroxyl, ether, epoxy, carbonyl or carboxyl groups wherein the oxygen is about 4 to 10 atomic percent above the original surface content of the base. The polyester film base can be either polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate.Type: GrantFiled: February 14, 1996Date of Patent: April 8, 1997Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Janglin Chen, Louis J. Gerenser, David A. Glocker
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Patent number: 5582921Abstract: The present invention is a polyester film base which has a surface approximately 5 nm thick. The surface of the film base has been altered to include about 6 to 15 atomic percent nitrogen in the form of imines, secondary amines and primary amines in the ratio of about 1:1:2. The invention also includes a film base whose surface includes oxygen in the form of hydroxyl, ether, epoxy, carbonyl or carboxyl groups wherein the oxygen is about 4 to 10 atomic percent above the original surface content of the base. The polyester film base can be either polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 1995Date of Patent: December 10, 1996Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Janglin Chen, Louis J. Gerenser, David A. Glocker
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Patent number: 5576164Abstract: The present invention is a polyester film base which has a surface approximately 5 nm thick. The surface of the film base has been altered to include about 6 to 15 atomic percent nitrogen in the form of imines, secondary amines and primary amines in the ratio of about 1:1:2. The invention also includes a film base whose surface includes oxygen in the form of hydroxyl, ether, epoxy, carbonyl or carboxyl groups wherein the oxygen is about 4 to 10 atomic percent above the original surface content of the base. The polyester film base can be either polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 1995Date of Patent: November 19, 1996Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Janglin Chen, Louis J. Gerenser, David A. Glocker
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Patent number: 5563029Abstract: The present invention is a biaxially oriented polyester film support in which the surface has been subjected to an energetic treatment to produce amine groups on the polyester surface. The treated surface is then coated with a dilute amine reactive hardener solution. After drying the hardener solution a photographic emulsion is coated to the surface. The resulting film element has better adhesion of the photographic emulsion after photoprocessing than previous known methods.Type: GrantFiled: April 3, 1995Date of Patent: October 8, 1996Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy Grace, Louis J. Gerenser, Janglin Chen, Edgar E. Riecke
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Patent number: 5538841Abstract: The present invention is a polyester film base which has a surface approximately 5 nm thick. The surface of the film base has been altered to include about 6 to 15 atomic percent nitrogen in the form of imines, secondary amines and primary amines in the ratio of about 1:1:2. The invention also includes a film base whose surface includes oxygen in the form of hydroxyl, ether, epoxy, carbonyl or carboxyl groups wherein the oxygen is about 4 to 10 atomic percent above the original surface content of the base. The polyester film base can be either polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 1995Date of Patent: July 23, 1996Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Janglin Chen, Louis J. Gerenser, David A. Glocker
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Patent number: 5425980Abstract: The present invention is a polyester film base which has a surface approximately 5 nm thick. The surface of the film base has been altered to include about 6 to 15 atomic percent nitrogen in the form of imines, secondary amines and primary amines in the ratio of about 1:1:2. The invention also includes a film base whose surface includes oxygen in the form of hydroxyl, ether, epoxy, carbonyl or carboxyl groups wherein the oxygen is about 4 to 10 atomic percent above the original surface content of the base. The polyester film base can be either polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1994Date of Patent: June 20, 1995Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Jeremy M. Grace, Janglin Chen, Louis J. Gerenser, David A. Glocker
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Patent number: 5324414Abstract: A method is disclosed for producing Ag/Ni composite ion selective electrode on polymer substrates. By utilizing a nitrogen glow discharge pretreatment of the polymer substrate, silver may be deposited directly thereon. Further, because of the glow discharge pretreatment, aging of the silver layer prior to nickel deposition and bleaching operation is not necessary.Type: GrantFiled: June 1, 1992Date of Patent: June 28, 1994Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Robert G. Spahn, Louis J. Gerenser