Apparatus for high speed photographic printing

Claim 1

PRINTING APPARATUS COMPRISING: MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A PHOTOSENSITIVE SURFACE ON WHICH PRINTING IS TO OCCUR AND FOR MOVING SAID SURFACE THROUGH SAID FIRST AND SECOND LOCATIONS, A DRUM MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS PARALLEL TO A LINE THROUGH SAID FIRST LOCATION ALONG WHICH PRINTING IS TO OCCUR, AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE OF SAID DRUM BEING TRANSPARENT, AN OPAQUE MASK DEFINING A PLURALITY OF FIRST AND SECOND TRANSPARENT REGIONS AND A THIRD TRANSPARENT REGION DISPOSED ALONG THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SUFFACE OF SAID DRUM WITH SAID TRANSPARENT REGIONS LOCATED ADJACENT A TRANSPARENT PORTION OF SAID DRUM, SAID FIRST TRANSPARENT REGIONS CONTAINING SYMBOLS TO BE PRINTED AND BEING ARRANGED IN ROWS AND COLUMNS, EACH SAID ROW EXTENDING ALONG A DIFFERENT LINE PARALLEL TO SAID AXIS AND EACH SAID COLUMN EXTENDING ALONG THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A CIRCLE DEFINED BY THE INTERSECTION OF SAID MASK WITH A DIFFERENT PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXIS, SAID SECOND TRANSPARENT REGIONS EXTENDING ALONG THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF A CIRCLE DEFINED BY THE INTERSECTION OF SAID MASK WITH ANOTHER PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXIS, EACH SAID SECOND TRANSPARENT REGION BEING ASSOCIATE WITH A DIFFERENT ROW OF SAID FIRST TRANSPARENT REGIONS, SAID THIRD TRANSPARENT REGION BEING DISPOSED AT A PREDETERMINED CIRCUMFERENTIAL LOCATION ALONG SAID MASK IN STILL ANOTHER PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO SAID AXIS, SAID FIRST TRANSPARENT REGIONS BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE THROUGH A REGION ADJACENT SAID FIRST LOCATION, SAID SECOND TRANSPARENT REGIONS BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE THROUGH A THIRD LOCATION, SAID THIRD TRANSPARENT REGION BEING ADAPTED TO MOVE THROUGH A FOURTH LOCATION, A PLURALITY OF INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE LIGHT SOURCES EACH MOUNTED AT A FIXED LOCATION WITHIN SAID DRUM AXIALLY DISPLACED WITH RESPECT TO THE LOCATION OF EVERY OTHER INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE LIGHT SOURCE, MEANS FOR GUIDING LIGHT FROM THE RESPECTIVE INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE SOURCE TOWARD THE RESPECTIVE PORTIONS ALONG SAID LINE THROUGH SAID FIRST LOCATION TRANSVERSED BY THE RESPECTIVE COLUMNS OF TRANSPARENT REGIONS ON SAID MASK, A DEVELOPING LIGHT SOURCE POSITIONED TO ILLUMINATE THE REGION OF SAID PHOTOSENSITIVE SURFACE AT SAID SECOND LOCATION, A SENSING LIGHT SOURCE, MEANS FOR DIRECTING LIGHT FROM SAID SENSING LIGHT SOURCE TOWARD SAID THIRD AND FOURTH LOCATIONS, FIRST PHOTOSENSITIVE MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID FOURTH LOCATION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID MASK FROM SAID SENSING LIGHT SOURCE FOR DETECTING LIGHT FROM SAID SENSING LIGHT SOURCE WHICH PASSES THROUGH SAID THIRD TRANSPARENT REGION OF SAID MASK AND FOR GENERATING THEREFROM A REFERENCE SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF THE INSTANTANEOUS ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID DRUM, SECOND PHOTOSENSITIVE MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID THIRD LOCATION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SAID MASK FROM SAID SENSING LIGHT SOURCE FOR DETECTING LIGHT FROM SAID SENSING LIGHT WHICH PASSES THROUGH SAID SECOND TRANSPARENT REGIONS AND FOR GENERATING THEREFROM A TIMING SIGNAL WHEN EACH OF SAID SECOND TRANSPARENT REGIONS PASSES THROUGH SAID THIRD LOCATION, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID REFERENCE SIGNAL AND TO SAID TIMING SIGNALS FOR GENERATING A PLURALITY OF FIRST CODED SIGNALS EACH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INSTANTANEOUS POSITION OF A ROW OF TRANSPARENT REGIONS ON SAID MASK RELATIVE TO SAID LINE THROUGH SAID FIRST LOCATIONS, MEANS FOR STORING A PLURALITY OF SECOND CODED SIGNALS EACH REPRESENTATIVE OF A SELECTED SYMBOL TO BE PRINTED ALONG SAID LINE THROUGH SAID FIRST LOCATION FROM A DIFFERENT COLUMN OF TRANSPARENT REGIONS ON SAID MASK, MEANS FOR COMPARING EACH OF SAID FIRST CODED SIGNALS WITH EACH OF SAID SECOND CODED SIGNALS AND FOR PROVIDING A COMMAND SIGNAL UPON EACH CORRESPONDENCE OF A FIRST AND A SECOND CODED SIGNAL, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO EACH COMMAND SIGNAL FOR TRIGGERING THE INTERMITTENTLY OPERABLE LIGHT SOURCE ADAPTED TO ILLUMINATE THE COLUMN ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAID SECOND CODED SIGNAL RESULTING IN THE GENERATION OF SAID COMMAND SIGNAL WHEN THE ROW ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST CODED SIGNAL RESULTING IN THE GENERATION OF SAID COMMAND SIGNAL IS ADJACENT SAID LINE THROUGH SAID FIRST LOCATION.