Electro-mechanical shutter array

Claim 2

An electromechanical shutter system for controlling illumination of a row of contiguous minute equal areas in linear array comprising: a series of slope-walled apertures one corresponding to each of the areas to be illuminated, and arranged side by side, each aperture having its output end of the size and shape to cast a light beam covering the area to be illuminated thereby, and its input end substantially narrower than the output end in a direction along the row and substantially longer than the output end in a direction transversely of the row to embrace adequate input illumination; a plurality of conductor elements, one for each aperture, and each of a width adequate to block the input end of an aperture, each conductor disposed transversely of said row and parallel to the length dimension of the input end of one of said apertures; means associated with each of said elements for introducing a controllable electric current therethrough; and means providing a magnetic field coacting with the fields of said elements, when energized, to shift the same laterally eIther into aperture exposing or aperture blocking position.

Claim 3

A shutter system as set forth in claim 1 in which the last named means comprising a magnet element extending lengthwise of the row of areas in close proximity to said conductor elements, said magnet element being apertured to admit radiation through the magnet from an illumination source to impinge upon the conductor element.

Claim 4

An electromechanical shutter system including an array of electromagnetically driven mechanical shutters comprising: a plurality of conductor elements for disposition in a magnetic field for enabling the elements to be moved laterally between first and second predetermined positions as a function of the current through the elements; means, associated with each of said elements, for introducing current therethrough; stop means associated with each of said elements and adjacent one of said positions for positively establishing one of said positions of a said element; and magnet means for producing the magnetic field, said magnet means including: a first elongate member having an elongate recess therein for receiving a radiation source, and radiation transferring means extending from said recess to the exterior of said member, a second elongate member, a main frame for internally mounting said members in spaced, parallel, juxtaposition with said radiation transferring means facing said second member and for providing a magnetic return path for the field established in the space between said members for irradiating under control of said shutters objects fed through said magnetic frame in the space between said members.

Claim 5

An electromechanical shutter system including an array of electromagnetically driven mechanical shutters comprising: a plurality of conductor elements for disposition in a magnetic field for enabling the elements to be moved laterally between first and second predetermined positions as a function of the current through the elements; means, associated with each of said elements, for introducing current therethrough; stop means associated with each of said elements and adjacent one of said positions for positively establishing one of said positions of a said element; and magnet means for producing the magnetic field, said magnet means including: a first elongate member having an elongate recess therein for receiving a radiation source, and radiation transferring means extending from said recess to the exterior of said member, a second elongate member, a main frame for internally mounting said members in spaced, parallel, juxtaposition with said radiation transferring means facing said second member and for providing a magnetic return path for the field established in the space between said members for irradiating under control of said shutters objects fed through said magnetic frame in the space between said members.

Claim 6

The system of claim 3 in which said main frame is a closed rectangular core.

Claim 7

The system of claim 3 in which one of said members includes a permanent magnet for producing a magnetic field from that member through the space, and the other member and returning through the main frame.

Claim 8

The system of claim 3 in which said radiation source and said radiation transferring means each includes a plurality of discrete members, one of each such members being associated with a group of said shutters for independently providing radiation to each group of said shutters for permitting gray scale operation through said shutters.

Claim 9

The system of claim 3 in which radiation transferring means is a slot having highly reflective walls which converge toward the exterior of said member.

Claim 10

An electromechanical shutter system including an array of electromagnetically driven mechanical shutters comprising: a plurality of conductor elements connected to electrical terminals and disposed in a linear array transverse to their longitudinal axes in an orthogonal magnetic field; means for introducing current to said elements to move them between first and second positions in the magnetic field; stop means associated with each of said elements and adjacent one of the positions for positively establishing the first position of one of the elements and the second position of an adjacent element; and magnet means for providing a magnetic field comprising: a first elongate member having an elongate recess therein for receiving a radiation source, and radiation transferring means extending from said recess to the exterior of said member, a second elongate member, a main frame for internally mounting said members in spaced, parallel, juxtaposition with said radiation transferring means facing said second member and for providing a magnetic return path for the field established in the space between said members for irradiating under control of said shutters objects fed through said magnetic frame in the space between said members.

Claim 11

An electromechanical shutter system including an array of electromagnetically driven mechanical shutters comprising: a plurality of conductor elements connected to electrical terminals and disposed in a linear array transverse to their longitudinal axes in an orthogonal magnetic field; means for introducing current to said elements to move them between first and second positions in the magnetic field; stop means associated with each of said elements and adjacent one of the positions for positively establishing the first position of one of the elements and the second position of an adjacent element; and magnet means for providing a magnetic field comprising: a first elongate member having an elongate recess therein for receiving a radiation source, and radiation transferring means extending from said recess to the exterior of said member, a second elongate member, a main frame for internally mounting said members in spaced, parallel, juxtaposition with said radiation transferring means facing said second member and for providing a magnetic return path for the field established in the space between said members for irradiating under control of said shutters objects fed through said magnetic frame in the space between said members.

Claim 12

The system of claim 8 further including an aperture associated with each of said shutters, each said aperture formed in a cell which is formed by two wall laminations between which is included an aperture lamination including a hole extending laterally through the tHickness dimension, part way across the width dimension and opening onto a longitudinal edge of the shutter lamination, and a recess into the thickness dimension of, and extending from the hole to the other longitudinal edge of, the aperture lamination.

Claim 13

The system of claim 9 further including a transparent plate adjacent the shutter array for positively positioning proximate the shutter array items to be subjected to radiation gated by the shutter array.

Claim 14

The system of claim 10 further including a photosensitive sensor associated with each of said elements for sensing radiation from an object.

Claim 15

The system of claim 9 in which each of said apertures has an inlet of 50 mils by 1.5 mils and an outlet of 3 mils by 3 mils.

Claim 16

The system of claim 12 in which each of said elements is approximately 750 mils in length.