Systems, apparatus, and methods for manufacturing printed conductive wire segments.

Abstract

To provide: a method for producing electrically conductive lines not requiring expensive ink or conductive foil; and a module for producing electrically conductive lines.SOLUTION: Provided herein is a method of producing an electrically conductive line comprising: a powdered conductive material applicator arranged to collaborate with a printing unit; a heat press; and a duster to remove unbonded powdered conductive material. The method includes providing a substrate, printing a first layer on the substrate, applying a powdered conductive material to the first layer, and bonding the powdered conductive material to the first layer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of printed conductors, and more specifically, to conductive materials added to printed marking materials or inks for making printed conductors.

Background Art

[0002] Printed electronics is a set of printing methods used to fabricate electrical devices on various substrates. Printing typically uses common printing equipment suitable for defining patterns of materials, such as screen printing, flexographic printing, gravure printing, offset printing by photolithography, and inkjet. According to the electronics industry standard, these are low-cost processes. Electrically functional electronic inks or optical inks are deposited on substrates to fabricate active devices such as thin-film transistors or passive devices, capacitors, coils, and resistors. Printed electronics is expected to facilitate a wide range of very low-cost and low-performance electronic devices for applications such as flexible displays, smart labels, decorative and motion posters, and active clothing that does not require high performance.

[0003] The term printed electronics is often associated with organic electronics or plastic electronics, and one or more inks are composed of carbon-based compounds. These other terms refer to ink materials that can be deposited by solution-based, vacuum-based, or other processes. Printed electronics, in contrast, specifies a process and can utilize any solution-based material subject to the specific requirements of the selected printing process. This includes organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, metal conductors, nanoparticles, and nanotubes.

[0004] Printing methods are employed in the preparation of printed electronic devices across almost all industries. Similar to conventional printing, printed electronic devices involve applying layers of ink to each other. The most significant advantage of printing is low-cost mass production. Lower costs allow for use in a wider range of applications. One example is radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems, which enable contactless identification during exchange and transport. In some areas, such as light-emitting diodes, printing does not affect performance.

[0005] Printing conductive traces is a challenging task for the printing industry today. One method, as mentioned earlier, involves printing silver-based inks using printing heat. This solution is expensive and, in some cases, requires a sintering device to bond the particles together. Other options to consider include using conductive foil or using thermal printing equipment and conductive rolls. Both of these solutions are quite wasteful. Xerography is also unsuitable for conductive printing due to the problems associated with developing, transferring, and bonding / fusioning conductive materials.

[0006] Therefore, there has been a long-standing demand for a method of printing conductive lines that does not require expensive inks or conductive foils. [Overview of the project]

[0007] A printed conductive line segment is provided, comprising a substrate including a top and a bottom surface; a first layer printed on the substrate, the first layer including an upper and a lower part; and a second layer disposed on the first layer, the second layer comprising a conductive material. In some embodiments, the first layer comprises a dry ink (e.g., toner). In some embodiments, the lower part is disposed in close proximity to the top surface, and the second layer is disposed in close proximity to the top surface. In some embodiments, the first layer is fused to the substrate, and the second layer is bonded to the first layer. In some embodiments, the second layer comprises graphite.

[0008] A method for manufacturing a conductive line segment is provided according to embodiments of this specification, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; printing a first layer on the substrate; coating the first layer with a powder conductive material; and bonding the powder conductive material to the first layer.

[0009] A method for manufacturing a conductive line segment is provided according to embodiments of this specification, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; printing a first layer on the substrate; coating the first layer with a powder conductive material; and removing the unsolidified powder conductive material from the substrate.

[0010] According to embodiments described herein, a module for manufacturing conductive line segments is provided, which is operably disposed to cooperate with a printing unit and comprises an applicator for applying powder conductive material to a printable medium, wherein the printable medium comprises a substrate including a printing layer; a hot press operably disposed for bonding the powder conductive material to the printing layer; and a duster operably disposed for removing unbonded powder conductive material from the printable medium.

[0011] According to embodiments described herein, a module is provided for manufacturing conductive line segments in a printable medium, the module comprising: an applicator operably disposed to cooperate with a printing unit and operably disposed to apply a powder conductive material to at least a portion of the printable medium, the printable medium comprising a substrate including a printing layer, the printing layer including a first section and a second section; a hot press operably disposed to bond the powder conductive material to the first section; and a duster operably disposed to remove unbonded powder conductive material from the printable medium.

[0012] A method for manufacturing a conductive line segment in at least a portion of a printable medium is provided, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; printing a printable layer on the substrate, wherein the printable layer comprises a first section and a second section; applying a powder conductive material to the printable layer; and bonding the powder conductive material to the first section.

[0013] This disclosure includes a method to be implemented in a toner-using zero-graphics machine, such as a XEROX® IGEN® printing apparatus or other printing apparatus. A line segment pattern is printed on a substrate. The print is then placed in a hot press so that the line segments are in contact with a layer of graphite or carbon powder. Heating causes the graphite to adhere to the printed line segments. The resistance of the resulting line segments is approximately 18,000 ohms, sufficient to support low-voltage applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

[0014] This disclosure may be implemented as a module that can be wound up to and / or connected to the output of a printing device, such as a Xerox® IGEN® printing device or other printing device. This disclosure can be used to attach a conductive trace to a printed medium, such as a colored print.

[0015] This disclosure can be implemented, for example, as a method and / or apparatus for adding a conductive trace to only a portion of a printed medium. For example, this disclosure includes a method and / or apparatus for converting a portion of a printed medium (e.g., a wine bottle label, a safety compound label, etc.) into a conductive trace for the purpose of creating an RFID tag inside. In some embodiments, the portion of the printed medium to be converted into a conductive trace may include one or more ink layers (e.g., dry ink commonly known as toner) or other adhesives. In some embodiments, the conductive material is added only to the portion of the printed medium to be converted into a conductive trace.

[0016] This disclosure includes a method for producing conductive traces by bonding a conductive material, such as powdered graphite or carbon, to a zero-graphic print using heat and pressure. This method enables low-cost production of printed conductive circuits. In some embodiments, the conductive material is bonded to a thermoplastic material (e.g., toner) and / or an adhesive.

[0017] These and other purposes, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become readily apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of this disclosure, taking into account the drawings and the attached claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] Various embodiments are disclosed only as examples, with reference to the accompanying schematic diagrams in which the corresponding reference symbols indicate the corresponding parts. [Figure 1] A perspective view of printable media. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of a printable medium taken roughly along line 2-2 in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a printable medium to which a conductive material has been added. [Figure 4] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a printable medium to which a heat press has been applied. [Figure 5] Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a printable medium to which dust has been applied. [Figure 6] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a printable medium, where the non-solidified conductive material has been removed and the solidified conductive material remains. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram of a prior art printing unit. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram of the printing unit. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram of the printing unit. [Figure 10] This is a schematic diagram of the printing unit. [Figure 11]An elevation view of a label including both an artwork section and a conductive trace section formed using the method of the present disclosure. **DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION**

[0019] First, it should be understood that like drawing numbers on different drawings identify the same or functionally similar structural elements. It should also be understood that the claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments.

[0020] Furthermore, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific methodologies, materials, and modifications described, and thus may naturally vary. It is also to be understood that the terms used herein are for the purpose of describing only particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0021] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It should be understood that any method, device, or material similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the implementation or testing of the exemplary embodiments. The assemblies of the present disclosure can be driven by hydraulic, electronic, pneumatic, and / or spring means.

[0022]

[0023] The term "substantially" is synonymous with terms such as "nearly", "very close to", "about", "approximately", "around", "near to", "proximate to", "essentially", "in the vicinity of", "in the neighborhood of", etc., and such terms can be used interchangeably as they appear in this specification and the claims. The term "approximate" is synonymous with terms such as "near", "close", "adjacent", "in the vicinity", "right", "next to", etc., and such terms can be used interchangeably as they appear in this specification and the claims. The term "approximately" is intended to mean a value within 10 percent of the specified value.

[0023] It should be understood that the use of “or” in this application, unless otherwise stated, relates to “non-exclusive” configurations. For example, when we say “Item x is A or B,” it is understood that this could mean one of the following: (1) Item x is either A or B, or (2) Item x is both A and B. Alternatively, the word “or” is not used to define an “exclusive or” configuration. For example, the “exclusive or” configuration for the statement “Item x is A or B” requires that x can be either A or B. Furthermore, as used herein, “and / or” is intended to mean a grammatical conjunction used to indicate that one or more of the enumerated elements or conditions may be included or occur. For example, a device comprising a first element, a second element, and / or a third element is intended to be interpreted as any one of the following structural arrangements: a device comprising a first element, a device comprising a second element, a device comprising a third element, a device comprising a first and a second element, a device comprising a first and a third element, a device comprising a first element, a second element, and a third element, or a device comprising a second and a third element.

[0024] Furthermore, when used herein, the phrases “comprises at least one of” and “comprising at least one of” in combination with a system or element are intended to mean that the system or element includes one or more of the elements listed after the phrase. For example, a device including at least one of the first, second, and third elements is intended to be interpreted as any one of the following structural arrangements: a device including the first element, a device including the second element, a device including the third element, a device including the first and second elements, a device including the first and third elements, a device including the first, second, and third elements, or a device including the second and third elements. A similar interpretation is intended when the phrase “used in at least one of” is used herein. Furthermore, as used herein, “and / or” is intended to mean a grammatical conjunction used to indicate that one or more of the enumerated elements or conditions may be included or occur. For example, a device containing the first element, the second element, and / or the third element is intended to be interpreted as any one of the following structural arrangements: a device containing the first element, a device containing the second element, a device containing the third element, a device containing the first and second elements, a device containing the first and third elements, a device containing the first, second, and third elements, or a device containing the second and third elements.

[0025] Where used herein, “processing direction” is intended to mean the direction in which the printing medium moves through the system, whereas “cross-processing direction” is intended to mean the direction perpendicular to the processing direction. Furthermore, where used herein, the terms “printing apparatus,” “printing apparatus system,” “printing system,” “printing apparatus device,” and “printing device” encompass any device that performs a print output function as intended, such as a digital copier, bookbinding machine, facsimile machine, or multifunction printer. In addition, where used herein, “web,” “substrate,” and “printable substrate” refer to, for example, paper, transparent film, parchment, film, cloth, plastic, photographic finishing paper, or other covered or uncovered substrate media in the form of a web on which information or markings can be visualized and / or reproduced. Where used herein, the term “average” should be interpreted broadly to include any calculation in which a result datum or decision is obtained based on multiple input data, including, but not limited to, weighted averages and Yes / No decisions based on rolling inputs.

[0026] As used herein, "to fuse" with respect to dry inks such as toner is intended to mean supplying thermal energy and / or pressure that has the effect of slightly liquefying the applied dry ink (toner) particles and then causing them to adhere to a surface.

[0027] Referring to the figures, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the printable medium 10. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the printable medium 10 taken roughly along line 2-2 in Figure 1. The following description should be read with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0028] The printable medium 10 comprises a substrate 20 and an adhesive disposed thereon, such as a dry ink, also commonly called toner. For example, as shown, the dry ink 30 is arranged linearly on the substrate 20, and the dry ink 40 is arranged curvedly on the substrate. The substrate 20 includes a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24. In some embodiments, the substrate 20 includes paper. However, the substrate 20 may include any material suitable for fusing with the dry ink (e.g., toner), such as transparent film, parchment, film, cloth, plastic, vinyl, polyester, photographic finishing paper, or other coated or uncoated substrate media in the form of a web on which information or markings can be visualized and / or reproduced, and it should be understood that this disclosure should not be limited to the use of paper. The dry ink is added to the substrate 20, specifically the top surface 22, as is known in the art via xerography. Using a xerographic printing apparatus makes it possible to add the dry ink to the substrate 20 quickly and accurately for a specific geometric arrangement. For the purposes of this disclosure, the dry ink 30 is arranged in a straight line and the dry ink 40 is arranged in a curved line, however the dry inks may be arranged on the substrate 20 in any desired pattern, shape, or geometric form and fused to the substrate 20. Furthermore, it should be understood that the dry inks 30 and 40 may comprise one or more layers of dry ink. For example, the dry ink 30 may comprise three layers of dry ink printed / laminated on top of each other. Such a configuration allows for greater material height (e.g., larger toner piles), resulting in better adhesion of conductive materials added thereto, as will be described in more detail below.

[0029] After the dry inks 30 and 40 are added to the substrate 20, fusion occurs (i.e., the dry inks 30 and 40 are fused to the upper surface 22). As shown in Figure 2, the fused dry ink 30 includes an upper part 32 and a lower part 34, the lower part 34 being positioned close to, in contact with, and / or fused to the upper surface 22. The fused dry ink 40 includes an upper part 42 and a lower part 44, the lower part 44 being positioned close to, in contact with, and / or fused to the upper surface 22. In some embodiments, as described above, the dry ink may contain toner, but it should be understood that the dry ink may contain or be replaced with any printable adhesive. In addition, while this disclosure envisions the use of a zero-graphics printing apparatus (e.g., a XEROX® IGEN® printing apparatus) for applying dry ink to the substrate 20, it should be understood that in some embodiments, an inkjet or other suitable printing apparatus can be used to quickly and accurately apply an adhesive (e.g., a material capable of adhering conductive materials) to the substrate 20.

[0030] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a printable medium 10 to which powder or flexible conductive material 52 has been added. "Flexible" means that the conductive material is not bonded or fused with the dry ink 30 or 40 and can still be easily removed from the printable medium 10 (e.g., by blowing it off or brushing it away). The powder conductive material 52 may include, for example, graphite or carbon. It should be understood that the conductive material 52 may include any conductive material suitable for being applied to the printable medium 10 and bonded to the dry inks 30 and 40 to create a conductive trace (e.g., a powdery bond). In some embodiments, the particles of the powder conductive material 52 include spherical geometry, but any suitable particle form such as elongated particle shapes or flakes stacked around each other may be used. It should be understood that after bonding, the conductive material 52 forms a conductive trace and it is important that the dry inks 30 and / or 40 do not create discontinuities between the particles of the conductive material 52 that impair conductivity through them. The conductive material 52 can be added to the printable medium 10 using any means suitable for adequately coating the dry inks 30 and 40 so that a conductive trace is produced. For example, the conductive material 52 may be added to the printable medium 10 via an applicator that provides a continuous or semi-continuous drop of the conductive material, similar to that of a waterfall (e.g., a cascador). In some embodiments, the applicator coats the printable medium 10 by sprinkling and / or spreading the conductive material 52 around the top surface 22 and upper parts 32 and 42. In some embodiments, the printable medium 10 is immersed in or at least partially submerged in a bed of conductive material 52 (i.e., the printable medium 10 is displaced downward with its surface 22 pressed against a pool or tray of conductive material 52).

[0031] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printable medium 10 to which the hot press 60 is applied. As shown, the conductive material 52 is applied to the printable medium 10 to form a layer covering at least the upper 32 and upper 42, and may also cover at least a portion of the upper surface 22. After a sufficient layer of powder or soft conductive material 52 has been applied to the printable medium 10 (as shown in Figure 4), the hot press 60 is applied thereto. Specifically, the hot press 60 is displaced in the direction of arrow A to apply pressure and heat to the printable medium 10 and the conductive material 52. In some embodiments, the hot press 60 applies 380 degrees Fahrenheit to the printable medium 10 and the conductive material 52 at a moderate pressure for 60 seconds. It should be understood that any means for applying heat and pressure to the printable medium 10 and the conductive material 52 may be, for example, rollers used for fusion, as will be described in more detail below. The heat applied by the heat press 60 causes the dry ink 30 and dry ink 40 to at least partially liquefy, becoming sticky or viscous. At the same time, the pressure applied by the heat press 60 causes the conductive material 52 to bond, fix, and / or fuse to the dry ink 30 and dry ink 40, specifically to the upper parts 32 and 42, respectively.

[0032] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the printable medium 10 to which the duster 70 is applied. After the hot press 60 has applied sufficient heat and pressure to the printable medium 10 for a sufficient amount of time, the hot press 60 is removed, and at this point the dried inks 30 and 40 return to a solid state (i.e., the dried inks 30 and 40 are no longer sticky or viscous). As shown, the solidified conductive material 54 remains bonded, fixed, and / or fused to the upper part 32 of the dried ink 30, and the solidified conductive material 56 remains bonded, fixed, and / or fused to the upper part 42 of the dried ink 40. Also remaining is powder or soft conductive material 52 that is at least partially disposed on the surface 22. The powder conductive material 52 is still “not solidified” or not bonded / fused because it was not in close proximity or disposed on top of the dried ink. The duster 70 is used to remove the unsolidified powder conductive material 52 from the surface 22. In exemplary embodiments, the duster 70 includes a blower for applying a gas stream in the direction of arrow B to the printable medium to "blow away" the powder conductive material 52 from the surface 22. In some embodiments, the duster 70 includes a mechanical arm with a brush for "sweeping" the powder conductive material 52 from the surface 22. In some embodiments, the duster 70 applies acoustic vibrations to the printable medium 10 to remove the powder conductive material from the surface 22.

[0033] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the printable medium 10 after the powder conductive material 52 has been removed, leaving solidified conductive materials 54 and 56. After the duster 70 removes the powder conductive material 52 from the surface 22 of the substrate 20, the solidified conductive material 54 remains, which bonds to the top 32 of the dry ink, and the conductive material 56 remains, which bonds to the top 42 of the dry ink. The solidified conductive material 54 is a conductive trace, and the solidified conductive material 56 is a conductive trace. It should be understood that the method described herein may be used to “print” radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or RFID antennas. In some embodiments, the conductive traces formed by the method described herein can be used to power LEDs fixed to the substrate 20 on the conductive materials 54 and / or 56. In some embodiments, the method described herein can be used to print labels on products, or to print labels on products, at least a portion of which includes solidified conductive material (i.e., a printed label, a portion of which forms an RFID / RFID antenna), as described in more detail below with respect to Figure 11.

[0034] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a prior art printing unit 90. The printing unit 90 may be, for example, a XEROX® IGEN® printing apparatus as described in U.S. Patent Applications 16 / 180,713, 16 / 180,762, and 16 / 180,813, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Generally, the printing unit 90 comprises a supply module 100, a printing engine tower, a fusion module 130, and an output module. A substrate or printable medium, for example, a printable medium 10, moves through the printing unit 90 in the processing direction indicated by arrow C.

[0035] The printing engine tower 110 comprises one or more dry ink dispensers, e.g., dry ink dispensers 116, 118, 120, and 122, and a transfer belt 114. Some embodiments, for example, embodiments involving image formation with dry ink, may be beneficial with a printing system that includes what are known as acoustic transfer assist (ATA) devices. Those skilled in the art will understand that a printing system that uses a flexible belt in the process of forming an image on the flexible belt and then transferring the image from the flexible belt to a printing medium sometimes includes one or more ATA devices. The ATA device uses acoustic energy to drive dry ink, e.g., toner, from the belt to the printing medium. Thus, in some embodiments, an ATA device, such as ATA device 112, assists in the transfer of dry ink from the belt to the malleable printing medium, so that direct contact between the belt and the malleable material is not required. It should be understood that such a configuration can minimize image defects and thereby improve image quality. However, it should also be understood that conventional transfer of ink or marking material from a drum or other solid object is also possible.

[0036] The fusion module 130 includes a fusion unit 132. The fusion unit 132 applies heat and / or pressure to the printable medium 10 to fuse the dry ink 30 and / or 40 to the substrate 20. In some embodiments, the fusion unit 132 includes two rollers through which the printable medium 10 passes.

[0037] The supply module 100 supplies the substrate to the printing engine tower 110. The printing engine tower 110 and the fusion module 130 apply, or "print," and fuse the dry ink 30 and / or 40 onto the surface 22 of the substrate 20. The output module 140 presents the finished printable medium for retrieval.

[0038] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a printing unit 92. The printing unit 92 generally comprises a supply module 100, a printing engine tower 110, a fusion module 130, and a post-processing module 150. In some embodiments, the printing unit 92 further comprises an output module, for example, an output module 140. In the illustrated embodiment, the method for producing a printed conductive trace is carried out in the post-processing module 150. The supply module 100 supplies a substrate 20 to the printing engine tower 110, which coats the top surface 22 with dry ink 30 and / or 40. Subsequently, the substrate 20 with the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40 is supplied to the fusion module 130 in processing direction C, and the dry ink 30 and / or 40 is fused to the substrate 20 via the fusion unit 132 to form a printable medium 10. The printable medium 10 is then transferred to the post-processing module 150, either automatically or manually. In the post-process module 150, the applicator 50 applies powder or flexible conductive material 52 to the printable medium 10. Then, the hot press 60 applies heat and pressure to the printable medium 110, which has the conductive material 52 on it. The conductive material 52 combines with the dry ink 30 and / or 40 to form solidified conductive material 54 and / or 56, creating a conductive trace. Then, the duster 70 removes the remaining powder or flexible conductive material 52.

[0039] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a printing unit 96. The printing unit 96 generally comprises a supply module 100, a printing engine tower 110, a fusion module 130, and a module 170. In some embodiments, the printing unit 96 further comprises an output module, for example, an output module 140. In the illustrated embodiment, the method for producing printed conductive traces is carried out in module 170. In some embodiments, the components of module 170 can be dispersed within the printing apparatus so that the method for producing printed conductive traces is carried out in the supply module 130 and the output module 140. For example, the applicator 50 may be located in the fusion module 130 immediately after the fusion module 132, and the duster 70 may be located in the output module 140. The supply module 100 supplies the substrate 20 to the printing engine tower 110, which applies dry ink 30 and / or 40 to the top surface 22. Next, the substrate 20 having the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40 is supplied to the fusion module 130 in processing direction C, and the dry ink 30 and / or 40 is fused to the substrate 20 via the fusion module 132 to form a printable medium 10. Immediately after fusion, the printable medium 10 is transferred to module 170, and the applicator 50 applies powder or flexible conductive material 52 to the printable medium 10. The flexible conductive material 52 adheres to the still sticky / partially liquefied dry ink, bonding with it to form solidified conductive material 54 and / or 56, creating a conductive trace. After that, the duster 70 removes the remaining powder or flexible conductive material 52.

[0040] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a printing unit 98. The printing unit 98 generally comprises a supply module 100, a printing engine tower 110, a module 160, and a fusion module 130. In some embodiments, the printing unit further comprises an output module, for example, an output module 140. In the illustrated embodiment, the method for producing a printed conductive trace is carried out in module 160. The supply module 100 supplies a substrate 20 to the printing engine tower 110, which coats the top surface 22 with dry ink 30 and / or 40. The substrate 20, having the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40, is then supplied into module 160, to which heat is applied via a preheater 162. The preheater 162 may be, for example, a radiant heater. The applicator 50 then coats the printable medium 10 with powder or soft conductive material 52, which is preheated and thus adheres to the viscous / sticky dry ink 30 and / or 40. Next, the duster 70 removes any powder or flexible conductive material 52 that is not adhering to the sticky / viscous dry ink 30 and / or 40. Subsequently, the preheated substrate 20 having the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40, and the applied powder or flexible conductive material 52 are supplied to the fusion module 130 in processing direction C. The fusion module 132 (or hot press) then applies heat and pressure to the printable medium 110 having the conductive material adhering to the dry ink 30 and / or 40. The conductive material 52 bonds with the dry ink 30 and / or 40, and at the same time, the dry ink 30 and / or 40 fuses to the substrate 20, forming solidified conductive material 54 and / or 56, and creating a conductive trace. In the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the method for producing a printed conductive trace can utilize a powder conductive material that is not operable to melt (e.g., graphite, carbon, etc.) or a conductive material that is operably arranged to melt (e.g., powder bond). For example, in the case of a conductive material that is arranged to melt, the conductive material in powder form is applied to a printable medium 10 and adheres to a sticky, dry ink. Any conductive material that does not adhere to the dry ink is removed by a duster 70 before heat is applied.Next, the fusion device 132 applies heat, thereby melting the conductive material to form a conductive trace that is solidified only in the areas where the dry ink is printed. Such an embodiment may result in a more conductive trace than one using conductive material that is not arranged to melt.

[0041] In some embodiments, the method for producing printed conductive traces is carried out within a printing engine tower 110 and a fusion module 130. The following description is not shown in the drawings but should be understood to be readily conceivable by those skilled in the art. A supply module 100 supplies a substrate 20 to the printing engine tower 110, which coats the top surface 22 with dry ink 30 and / or 40. Before entering the fusion module 130, heat is applied to the substrate 20 having the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40 via a preheater 162 (distributed within the printing engine tower 110). The preheater 162 may be, for example, a radiant heater. Subsequently, the preheated substrate 20 having the unfused dry ink 30 and / or 40 is supplied in processing direction C to the fusion module 130, which includes an applicator 50, a duster 70, and a fusion unit 132. In the fusion module 130, the applicator 50 applies powder or flexible conductive material 52 to the printable medium 10, which is preheated and therefore adheres to the viscous / sticky dry ink 30 and / or 40. The duster 70 then removes the powder or flexible conductive material 52 that does not adhere to the viscous / sticky dry ink 30 and / or 40. The fusion module 132 (or hot press) then applies heat and pressure to the printable medium 110 having the conductive material adhered to the dry ink 30 and / or 40. The conductive material 52 bonds with the dry ink 30 and / or 40, and at the same time, the dry ink 30 and / or 40 fuses to the substrate 20, forming solidified conductive material 54 and / or 56, creating a conductive trace. In an embodiment similar to that shown in Figure 10, the method for manufacturing a printed conductive trace can utilize a powder conductive material that is not operable to melt (e.g., graphite, carbon, etc.) or a conductive material that is molten (e.g., a powder bond). For example, in the case of a conductive material molten, the conductive material in powder form is applied to a printable medium 10 and adheres to a sticky, dry ink. Any conductive material that does not adhere to the dry ink is removed by a duster 70 before heat is applied.Next, the fusion device 132 applies heat, thereby melting the conductive material to form a conductive trace that is solidified only in the areas where the dry ink is printed. Such an embodiment may result in a more conductive trace than one using conductive material that is not arranged to melt.

[0042] Figure 11 shows an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of a label 200 having both an artwork section and a conductive trace section formed using the method of the present disclosure. The label 200 generally comprises a substrate 202, an artwork section 210, and a conductive trace section 220. The label 200 can be manufactured using any of the methods for manufacturing a printed conductive trace as described above. As shown, the artwork section 210 includes the words “HOUSE WINE,” a bunch of grapes in the upper left section, a bunch of grapes in the upper right section, and the words “CABERNET SAUVIGNON” on a decorative banner. The conductive trace section 220 includes an RFID antenna. Both the artwork section 210 and the conductive trace section 220 are coated / printed onto the substrate 202 in a similar manner, i.e., from a printing apparatus (e.g., a XEROX® IGEN® printing apparatus) using cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (CMYK) dry inks. In some embodiments, the artwork section 210 includes a single layer having one color layer of dry ink (e.g., magenta or green). In some embodiments, the conductive trace section 220 may have one or more layers of dry ink. For example, the printing apparatus can "release" or coat a larger amount of dry ink onto the substrate 202 at the location of the conductive trace section 220 than at the location of the artwork section 210. Adding more dry ink to the conductive trace section 220 allows the conductive material 52 to adhere better to the dry ink. Thus, the printing apparatus can add one magenta layer to the substrate 202 in the artwork section 210, and one cyan layer, one magenta layer, one yellow layer, and one key plate layer in the conductive trace section 220. Subsequently, the conductive material 52 is added to the substrate 202 to bond to the conductive trace section 220, as described above with reference to Figures 1 to 10.The method disclosed herein enables the formation of labels and other printable media, including both an artwork section and a conductive trace section, and enables their easy manufacture using a single printing apparatus.

[0043] In some embodiments of a typical color printing system, each of the four CMYK developing units (or dry ink dispensers) 116, 118, 120, and 122 can be set to a dry ink coverage of 0-100% on a given small area within the image to be printed, depending on the desired image to be printed. Thus, in the case of a full-color image, a given small area can theoretically receive a dry ink coverage of 400%, i.e., 100% dry ink coverage from each of the combined CMYK developing units 116, 118, 120, and 122. However, in practice, when printing a typical desired image, the maximum dry ink coverage on any area within the image is much less than the 400% physical maximum dry ink coverage. For most customer images, heavy application of dry ink results in a total dry ink coverage of approximately 200% (from all combined CMYK developing units). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the maximum dry ink coverage for any given small area of ​​the image is set by hardware and / or software to a cutoff limit of 270%. One reason for this cutoff limit is to avoid physical stress on the splicer 132, which would result in overall contamination.

[0044] In contrast, in this disclosure, the appearance of the dry ink corresponding to the conductive area, e.g., the conductive trace section 220, is not a concern. In addition, the splicer 132 and its corresponding module may include special bypasses or modifications so that the total dry ink coverage can be suitable for application (i.e., to ensure that the splicer 132 is not damaged). In such cases, a relatively large, or even otherwise undesirable, total dry ink coverage can be selected for the conductive trace section 220. In some embodiments, it may be found that a total dry ink coverage of 300% or more is sufficient for the purpose of applying the powder conductive material 52 to form a conductive trace (e.g., conductive material 54 and / or 56). These high dry ink coverages can be commanded via a well-known image file format or channel such as PDF. Furthermore, image data and commands for creating a conductive trace can be combined in the same data stream with image data for printing a normal image for human viewing. For example, a label 200 that can be printed using the same data stream, as shown in Figure 11, includes an artwork section 210 and a conductive trace section 220.

[0045] It will be understood that the above disclosures and other features and functions, or various forms thereof, may preferably be combined with many other different systems or applications. Various currently unforeseen or unprecedented alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements may subsequently be made by those skilled in the art, and these are also intended to be covered by the following claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] Reference number 10 Printable media 20 Base material 22 Top side 24 Bottom 30 dry inks 32 Top 34 Lower part 40 dry inks 42 Top 44 Lower 50 Applicator 52 Conductive materials (powder) 54 Conductive materials (solid) 56 Conductive materials (solid) 60 Hot Press 70 Duster 90 printing units 92 Printing Units 96 Printing Units 98 Printing Unit 100 supply modules 110 Printing Engine Tower 112 Acoustic Transmission Assist (ATA) Devices 114 Transfer Belt 116 Dry Ink Dispenser 118 Dry Ink Dispenser 120 Dry Ink Dispenser 122 Dry Ink Dispenser 130 Fusion Splicer Modules 132 Fusion splicer 140 Output Modules 150 Post-Processing Modules 160 modules 162 Preheater 170 modules 200 labels Section 210 220 sections A Arrow B Arrow C arrow

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a conductive line segment comprising multiple layers, The process of providing the substrate, A step of printing a first layer containing toner onto the substrate, A step of applying a powder conductive material containing graphite or carbon powder to the first layer, A step of forming the conductive line segment by bonding the powder conductive material to the first layer, which includes applying heat to the first layer and applying pressure to the powder conductive material and the first layer, The process includes, after the step of bonding the powder conductive material to the first layer, the step of removing the unsolidified powder conductive material from the substrate, A method wherein the first layer is printed with a toner coverage of at least 300%.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of fusing the toner to the substrate before the step of applying the powder conductive material to the first layer.

3. After the step of printing the first layer onto the substrate, The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of preheating the first layer.

4. The step of bonding the powder conductive material to the first layer is, The method according to claim 1, comprising the step of applying heat to the powder conductive material and the first layer.

5. A method for manufacturing a conductive line segment within at least a portion of a printable medium, The process of providing the substrate, A step of printing a first printing layer containing toner on the substrate, wherein the first printing layer includes a first image section and a second image section. A step of applying a powder conductive material containing graphite or carbon powder to the first printed layer, A step of forming a conductive line segment by bonding the powder conductive material to the first image section, which includes applying heat to the first printing layer and applying pressure to the powder conductive material and the first printing layer, The process includes, after the step of bonding the powder conductive material to the first printed layer, the step of removing the unsolidified powder conductive material from the substrate, The second image section includes a total toner coverage rate less than or equal to a first threshold percentage, The first image section includes a total toner coverage greater than a second threshold percentage, The second threshold percentage is greater than the first threshold percentage. A method wherein the second threshold percentage is at least 300% toner coverage.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of applying the toner to the substrate before the step of applying the powder conductive material to the first printing layer.

7. After the step of printing the first printing layer containing toner onto the substrate, The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of preheating the toner.

8. After the step of applying the powder conductive material to the first printed layer, The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of removing unbonded powder conductive material from the substrate and the first printed layer.

9. The step of bonding the powder conductive material to the first image section is, The method according to claim 5, comprising the step of applying heat to the powder conductive material and at least the first image section of the first printed layer.

10. The step of printing the first printing layer containing the toner onto the substrate is, A step of applying the toner to the substrate corresponding to the first image section in a first predetermined amount, The method according to claim 5, comprising the step of applying the toner to the substrate corresponding to the second image section in a second predetermined amount smaller than a first predetermined amount.

11. The step of applying a powder conductive material to the first printed layer is, The method according to claim 6, comprising the step of applying the powder conductive material to the first image section.

12. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first image section corresponds to the conductive line segment, the second image section corresponds to the visible image, and the first and second image sections are printed on the substrate by a single image file.

Images