System for high speed retrieval of information and conversion thereof to book form

Claim 1

A high speed information recalling and reproducing system comprising, in combination, an ordered collection of unit records of visually interpretable information, a clockwise rotatable persistent internal polarization drum having its exterior coated with a layer of internally polarizable material, means for transferring visually interpretable information from said records to said layer of internally polarizable material on said drum, a prepolarizing station on the periphery of said drum, an image polarizing station on the periphery of said drum, clockwise of said prepolarizing station, by which an internal polarization may be induced in said layer in point-to-point correspondence with local characteristics of information on a selected unit record, a toner-application station on the periphery of said drum and clockwise of said image polarizing station, whereby said toner assumes a density of distribution over the surface thereof corresponding to the density of internal polarization therein, a toner-transfer roller situated on the periphery of said drum, clockwise of said toner application station, a source of printable sheet material, feedable between said drum and said roller, for transfer of said toner from said drum to said material, thereby to print said sheet material with an image of said originally selected unit record, a cleaning station on the periphery of said drum, clockwise of said toner transfer roller, for removal of excess toner prior to a subsequent application thereof, said toner being an electrostatic dye, means for fixing said dye subsequent to the transfer thereof to said sheet material, said source of printable sheet material being a paper feed roll, and a second persistent internal polarization printer substantially the same as said first-mentioned persistent internal polarization printer and adapted to print onto the reverse side of a segment of said paper a unit record representing a volume page immediately subsequent to that printed on the front of said paper.