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EP0096530A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Scanning apparatus

Assignee: Crosfield Data Systems Inc
•
Filing: 1983-06-01
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2003-06-01
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Abstract

Abstract The invention relates to a scanning device for reading and/or writing using a laser beam. A drum (243) includes a rotatable shaft (102) carrying optical elements (120) which are moved rotationally and translationally to cause a laser beam to scan sheet material lying around the surface of a cylinder coaxial with the shaft. A sheet to be scanned is placed on a flexible transport (150) while flat and then the transport is fed into the drum until a surface of the transport is in intimate contact with a location wall (243) of the drum. A bed (191) supports the flat transport outside the drum and there is a support (211,212) for supporting a transport above the bed together with positioning means (200) for the bed and support either for driving a transport on the bed into the drum or for driving a transport in the drum onto the support. The shaft (102) is rotatable in a housing (101) on air journal bearings (100) and end thrusts are balanced by air thrust bearings defined between a wall (125) of a reaction air turbine for driving the shaft, and a wall (124) of a porous plate through which air for the bearing is supplied through a controllable restriction (1232,1233).

Inventors

  • 👤 Joseph J. Crane
  • 👤 Daniel T. Beasley

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 22:00
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/04; H04N1/06; H04N1/0607; H04N1/0621; H04N1/0635; H04N1/0671; H04N1/08; H04N1/083; H04N1/0873

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 64 words
A scanning system including a shaft (102) rotatable in a housing (101) and having a pair of opposed air thrust bearings (124,125) between the housing and the shaft, each bearing comprising a cavity (123), means (1231) for supplying air under pressure to the cavity, and an air flow restricting element (124) controlling the supply of air from the cavity to the thrust bearing gap.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 64 words
A scanning system including a shaft (102) rotatable in a housing (101) and having a pair of opposed air thrust bearings (124,125) between the housing and the shaft, each bearing comprising a cavity (123), means (1231) for supplying air under pressure to the cavity, and an air flow restricting element (124) controlling the supply of air from the cavity to the thrust bearing gap.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 18 words
A system as claimed in CLaim 1 in which each air flow restricting element comprises a porous plate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 23 words
A system as claimed in Claim 2 in which the porous plate defines one of the relatively rotational surfaces of the thrust bearing.
Claim 5
Independent Claim 43 words
A system as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which each air thrust bearing is defined between two closely spaced parallel flat surfaces perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft, one on the housing, and one on the shaft.
Claim 6
Independent Claim 23 words
A system as claimed in any of the preceding claims including independent controls of the pressure of air supplied to the respective cavities.
Claim 7
Independent Claim 23 words
A system as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the air thrust bearings are at opposite ends of the housing.
Claim 8
Independent Claim 22 words
A system as claimed in any of the preceding claims including air journal bearing means (100) between the housing and the shaft.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 23 words
A system as claimed in Claim 7 including a vent enabling air which escapes from the air journal bearings to escape to atmosphere.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 35 words
A system as claimed in any of the preceding claims including a turbine (118) for rotating the shaft in the housing, and defining one surface (125) of the opposed surfaces of the/or each thrust bearing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 45 words
A system as claimed in Claim 9 in which air for driving the/or each turbine is derived from a source (114), via the interior of the shaft which is hollow to provide a reaction turbine drive to rotate the shaft in relation to the housing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 35 words
A system as claimed in Claim 10 including servo means (142) for controlling the supply of driving air in response to the speed of rotation of the shaft to tend to keep the speed contro.

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