EP0131290A2 — A rotatable mirror arrangement for generating a s…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 263 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement for generating a scanning beam (11", 12" ... 16"; 9", 10" ... 16") which is displaced parallel to itself, the apparatus comprising a plurality of mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) which are arranged on a body (18) rotatable about an axis (17) and which reflect a beam of light (19) one after the other during the rotation of the rotatable body (18), wherein the mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) extend perpendicular to the axis of rotation (17) of the rotatable body (18) and are arranged in an angularly displaced manner around the rotatable body (18), wherein the beam of light (19) impinges on the mirror surfaces (11, 12 ...16; 9, 10 ... 16) radially removed from the axis of rotation (17) and at an angle oC. such that, for one complete rotation of the rotatable body (18), each mirror surface (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) is only hit once by the light beam (19) for a finite angle of rotation, and wherein the beam of light (19) extends at an angle to the axis of rotation (17), characterised in that the light beam (19) extends in a plane which contains the scanning beams (11", 12" ... 16"; 9", 10" ... 16") and lies parallel to but displaced from the axis of rotation (17); and in that the individual mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) are of the same size and arranged in a helically displaced manner around the axis of rotation (17).

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 263 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement for generating a scanning beam (11", 12" ... 16"; 9", 10" ... 16") which is displaced parallel to itself, the apparatus comprising a plurality of mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) which are arranged on a body (18) rotatable about an axis (17) and which reflect a beam of light (19) one after the other during the rotation of the rotatable body (18), wherein the mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) extend perpendicular to the axis of rotation (17) of the rotatable body (18) and are arranged in an angularly displaced manner around the rotatable body (18), wherein the beam of light (19) impinges on the mirror surfaces (11, 12 ...16; 9, 10 ... 16) radially removed from the axis of rotation (17) and at an angle oC. such that, for one complete rotation of the rotatable body (18), each mirror surface (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) is only hit once by the light beam (19) for a finite angle of rotation, and wherein the beam of light (19) extends at an angle to the axis of rotation (17), characterised in that the light beam (19) extends in a plane which contains the scanning beams (11", 12" ... 16"; 9", 10" ... 16") and lies parallel to but displaced from the axis of rotation (17); and in that the individual mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) are of the same size and arranged in a helically displaced manner around the axis of rotation (17).

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 39 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that from 6 to 10 and in particular 8 mirrors (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) are arranged around the periphery of the rotatable body (18).

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 41 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each of the mirror surfaces (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) is axially spaced from the preceding mirror surface by the same axial distance.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 43 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with claim 3, characterised in that the axial spacing of each mirror surface (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) from the respectively preceding mirror surface is substantially the same as the thickness of the mirrors.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 38 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that each of the mirrors (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) is spaced from the preceding mirror by the same angular amount.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 30 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the mirrors (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) have the same sectorial shape.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 34 words

- 7. A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with one of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the mirrors (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) are of substantially rectangular shape.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 48 words

A rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the mirrors (11, 12 ... 16; 9, 10 ... 16) are so closely helically arranged that the light beam (19) can impinge on the mirrors at an angle α of approximately 45°.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 33 words

Use of the rotatable mirror arrangement in accordance with any one of the preceding claims as a master mirror wheel in a scanning apparatus in accordance with German patent publication 31 25 189.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 78 words

Use in accordance with claim 9,characterised in that the axis of rotation (17) of the rotatable body (18) is arranged at an angle of 45° to the laser beam (19) and deflects this laser light beam in jump-like steps through 90° to deflecting mirrors (25a, b, c, d, e,f, g, h) which are displaced in the direction of the impinging light beams and which deflect the light beams, via further deflecting mirrors (27a), to further slave mirror wheels(28a).

A rotatable mirror arrangement for generating a scanning beam which is displaced in steps parallel to itself

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