Thermoplastic recording and reproducing apparatus with selective beam erasure

Claim 1

A RECORDING AND REPRODUCTION SYSTEM COMPRISING IN COMBINATION WITH A HEAT DEVELOPABLE AND ERASABLE RECORDING MEMBER, A RECORDING TRANSDUCER MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR GENERATING AND CONTROLLING AN ELECTRON BEAM, MEANS FOR GUIDING AND DRIVING SAID RECORDING MEMBER IN A PREDETERMINED PATH RELATIVE SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS FOR RECORDING THEREON, MEANS FOR MODULATING AND CONTROLLING SAID BEAM TO SELECTIVELY RECORD SIGNALS ONTO PREDETERMINED AREAS OF SAID RECORDING MEMBER. A REPRODUCTION TRANSDUCING MEANS INCLUDING A SCANNING ELECTRON BEAM, MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID SCANNING BEAM TO READ AND REPRODUCE FROM PREDETERMINED AREAS SAID RECORDING MEMBER, AND AN ERASURE TRANSDUCING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR GENERATING AND CONTROLLING AN ERASURE ELECTRON BEAM TO SCAN PREDETERMINED AREAS OF SAID RECORDING MEMBER IN RESPONSE TO CONTROL INPUT SIGNALS, THE INTENSITY OF SAID ERASURE ELECTRON BEAM BEING MODULATABLE TO A DEGREE WHEREBY WHEN DIRECTED AND RETAINED AGAINST A SPOT AREA OF SAID RECORDING MEMBER IT WILL HEAT SAID AREA TO A DEGREE WHEREBY ERASURE OF A RECORDING THEREON WILL BE EFFECTED WITHOUT THE ERASURE OF RECORDINGS ON ADJACENT AREAS NOT SCANNED BY SAID ERASURE BEAM.