Patents by Inventor Tran V. Thien

Tran V. Thien 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).

  • Patent number: 5424183
    Abstract: Heat-developable photothermographic materials capable of providing stable color images of high resolution. These materials comprise a support bearing a layer of an image-forming composition comprising:(a) a photosensitive silver halide,(b) an organic silver compound,(c) a reducing agent for silver ion, and(d) a binder,The reducing agent comprises a ballasted leuco dye compound. The ballasted leuco dye compound comprises a compound of the general formula:D--BwhereinD represents the reduced chromophore of a thermally mobile dye; andB represents an organic group that reduces the thermal mobility of D in the aforementioned binder, said organic group B capable of being oxidatively cleaved. The molecular weight of B must not be so high that the resulting amount of D in the emulsion layer is insufficient to yield a dye image having a reflection optical density of at least 0.3 or a transmission optical density of at least 0.2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 13, 1995
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Takuzo Ishida, Roger A. Mader, Doreen C. Lynch, Tran V. Thien, Kenneth L. Hanzalik
  • Patent number: 5360694
    Abstract: A method of forming an image in which a color donor element and a receiving element are placed in face-to-face contact and opposed imagewise to infrared radiation, e.g. by laser exposure, in which at least one of the donor and receptor elements comprises a near-infrared absorbing dye which is a squarilium dye having dihydroperimidine terminal groups.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 1, 1994
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Tran V. Thien, Ranjan C. Patel
  • Patent number: 5246909
    Abstract: A dye-transfer-sheet in the form of a self supporting film having a total thickness of from 4 to 15 .mu.m and consisting of a layer of one or more thermally mobile sublimation dyes dissolved or dispersed in a polymeric binder and a hydrophilic barrier layer adjacent to, but distinct from the dye-containing layer comprising a polymeric binder substantially impermeable to migration of the sublimable dye(s).The dye-transfer-sheets have a high sensitivity due to the absence of a separate support substrate and are capable of producing clear, high density transferred images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 1991
    Date of Patent: September 21, 1993
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Tran V. Thien, Ranjan C. Patel
  • Patent number: 5208135
    Abstract: Compounds having a utility as photosensitive dyes in photocurable polymer based imaging systems having a nucleus of general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein: n is 1 or 2,Y is selected from the group consisting of 0 and ##STR2## Z is selected from the group consisting of 0.sup..crclbar. and ##STR3## M.sup..sym. is a cation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 4, 1993
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Ranjan C. Patel, Tran V. Thien, David Warner
  • Patent number: 4923792
    Abstract: A photothermographic element comprising:(A) a coating comprising a support bearing a photothermographic medium, the medium comprising a light sensitive silver halide in reactive association with a silver salt of an organic acid and a color generating reducing agent which is a leuco compound which is oxidizable by silver ions into a colored dye of the general formula: ##STR1## in which: n=0, 1 or 2,R.sup.1 represents H, CN, lower alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms, aryl or COOR.sup.6 in which R.sup.6 is lower alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms or aryl,R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 independently represent CN, NO.sub.2, COOR.sup.6, SO.sub.2 R.sup.6, CONHR.sup.6 in which R.sup.6 is as defined above or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 together represent the necessary atoms to form a 5- or 6-membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring having ring atoms selected from C, N, O and S atoms, whch carbocyclic or heterocyclic rings possess at least one conjugated electron withdrawing substituent,R.sup.4 and R.sup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 8, 1990
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Duncan M. A. Grieve, Stephen S. C. Poon, Tran V. Thien, Kumars Sakizadeh, David C. Weigel
  • Patent number: 4883747
    Abstract: A photothermographic element comprising a support bearing a photothermographic medium, the medium comprising a light sensitive silver halide in reactive association with a silver salt of an organic acid and a color generating reducing agent which is a leuco compound which is oxidisable by silver ions into a colored dye of the general formula: ##STR1## in which: n=0, 1 or 2,R.sup.1 represents H, CN, lower alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms, aryl or COOR.sup.6 in which R.sup.6 is lower alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms or aryl,R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 independently represent CN, NO.sub.2, COOR.sup.6, SO.sub.2 R.sup.6, CONHR.sup.6 in which R.sup.6 is as defined above or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 together represent the necessary atoms to form a 5- or 6-membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring having ring atoms selected from C, N, O and S atoms, which carbocyclic or heterocyclic rings possess at least one conjugated electron withdrawing substituent,R.sup.4 and R.sup.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1988
    Date of Patent: November 28, 1989
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Duncan M. A. Grieve, Stephen S. C. Poon, Tran V. Thien, Kumars Sakizadeh, David C. Weigel
  • Patent number: 4710570
    Abstract: Azine redox dyes and their corresponding dyes of the formula: ##STR1## in which: X is O, S, NR.sup.2,Z completes a fused aromatic of heterocyclic ring system,n is 0 or 1 to allow one R.sup.1 ring substituent,Q represents CR.sup.4 R.sup.5 in which at least one of R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 is an electronegative group or R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 may complete a ring, orwhen X is S Q may represent NR.sup.3 in which R.sup.3 is an aromatic or heterocyclic group.The leuco dyes are useful as dye generators in pressure sensitive, thermographic or photothermographic imaging systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1987
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventor: Tran V. Thien