Scanning device for exposing a photosensitive surface

Claim 1

A device for exposing a photosensitive surface to produce a graphic art work thereon, said devIce comprising a cathode ray tube having an output face with two mutually perpendicular axes and a plurality of discrete portions, said discrete portions each having a maximum dimension at least several times smaller than the maximum dimension of said face and said discrete portions being distributed over said face in such a manner that at least some of them are spaced from other of them in the direction parallel to one of said mutually perpendicular axes and some of them are spaced from other of them in the direction parallel to the other of said mutually perpendicular axes, said cathode ray tube including beam means for energizing said discrete portions to cause the emission of radiant energy therefrom, means for transmitting the radiant energy emitted from said discrete portions through a plurality of discrete outlet areas, each associated with a respective one of said discrete portions, onto said photosensitive surface, means for scanning said plurality of discrete outlet areas over said photosensitive surface by moving them as a group relative to said photosensitive surface along side-by-side parallel scan bands extending across said photosensitive surface, and means for controlling the flow of radiant energy transmitted through each of said outlet areas independently of the flow transmitted through all other of said outlet areas so that said flow may during said scanning movement be switched between an ON condition and an OFF condition, said means for controlling the flow of radiant energy transmitted through each of said outlet areas comprising means for controlling said beam means as to each individual one of said discrete portions to selectively cause each of said discrete portions to either emit or not emit radiant energy independently of the state of emission of any other of said discrete portions, said plurality of outlet areas being so located that when projected parallel to said scan bands and onto a given line perpendicular to said scan bands the projections thereof are located end-to-end along such given line whereby said photosensitive surface across the width of each of said scan bands may be selectively exposed either across the entire width of the band or along smaller portions of the width of the band.

Claim 2

A device for exposing a photosensitive surface to produce a graphic art work thereon, said devIce comprising a cathode ray tube having an output face with two mutually perpendicular axes and a plurality of discrete portions, said discrete portions each having a maximum dimension at least several times smaller than the maximum dimension of said face and said discrete portions being distributed over said face in such a manner that at least some of them are spaced from other of them in the direction parallel to one of said mutually perpendicular axes and some of them are spaced from other of them in the direction parallel to the other of said mutually perpendicular axes, said cathode ray tube including beam means for energizing said discrete portions to cause the emission of radiant energy therefrom, means for transmitting the radiant energy emitted from said discrete portions through a plurality of discrete outlet areas, each associated with a respective one of said discrete portions, onto said photosensitive surface, means for scanning said plurality of discrete outlet areas over said photosensitive surface by moving them as a group relative to said photosensitive surface along side-by-side parallel scan bands extending across said photosensitive surface, and means for controlling the flow of radiant energy transmitted through each of said outlet areas independently of the flow transmitted through all other of said outlet areas so that said flow may during said scanning movement be switched between an ON condition and an OFF condition, said means for controlling the flow of radiant energy transmitted through each of said outlet areas comprising means for controlling said beam means as to each individual one of said discrete portions to selectively cause each of said discrete portions to either emit or not emit radiant energy independently of the state of emission of any other of said discrete portions, said plurality of outlet areas being so located that when projected parallel to said scan bands and onto a given line perpendicular to said scan bands the projections thereof are located end-to-end along such given line whereby said photosensitive surface across the width of each of said scan bands may be selectively exposed either across the entire width of the band or along smaller portions of the width of the band.

Claim 12

A device for exposing a photosensitive surface to produce a graphic art work thereon, said device comprising means providing a plurality of discrete radiant energy outlet areas superimposed on said photosensitive surface and arranged so that when geometrically projected in the plane of said photosensitive surface perpendicularly onto a given line fixed relative thereto such geometric projections thereof are located end to end along said line and each associated with a respective one of an equivalent plurality of discrete end to end segments of said line, means for scanning said plurality of discrete outlet areas over said photosensitive surface by moving them as a group relative to said photosensitive surface in a direction perpendicular to said given line, means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface, means for controlling said flow of radiant energy directed through each of said outlet areas individually of the flow directed through the other of said outlet areas so that said flow may at any desired time during said scanning movement be switched between an ON condition and an OFF condition, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas being such that when said flow is in an ON condition said flow is sufficiently continuous as to cause the areas of said photosensitive surface swept by the associated outlet areas during such ON condition of said flow to be exposed in its entirety to radiant energy from said outlet area, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas including a single source of radiant energy in the form of a cathode ray tube having an output face with a plurality of discrete portions each associated with a respective one of said outlet areas, said cathode ray tube including means for producing a beam, means for sweeping said beam in sequence across said discrete portions of said output face, and said means for controlling said flow of radiant energy comprising means for selectively causing said beam to be in either an ON or an OFF condition as it passes each of said discrete portions of said output face, said means for sweeping said beam being such as to cause said beam to be moved at such a speed relative to the speed at which said scanning means moves said outlet areas over said photosensitive surface that during the time required for any given one of said outlet areas to move relative to said photosensitive surface a distance equal to its Dimension perpendicular to said given line said beam is swept past the associated discrete portion of said output face a plurality of times, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface further including a lens means between said output face and said photosensitive surface for projecting real images of said discrete portions of said output face onto said photosensitive surface, said real images of said discrete portions of said output face defining said outlet areas, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface further including a mask positioned adjacent said output face and having a plurality of openings each of which is superimposed on and delineates a respective one of said discrete areas of said output face, said mask including at least two rows of openings with the openings of each row being spaced from one another and laterally aligned with the spaces between the openings of the other row.

Claim 13

A device for exposing a photosensitive surface to produce a graphic art work thereon, said device comprising means providing a plurality of discrete radiant energy outlet areas superimposed on said photosensitive surface and arranged so that when geometrically projected in the plane of said photosensitive surface perpendicularly onto a given line fixed relative thereto such geometric projections thereof are located end to end along said line and each associated with a respective one of an equivalent plurality of discrete end to end segments of said line, means for scanning said plurality of discrete outlet areas over said photosensitive surface by moving them as a group relative to said photosensitive surface in a direction perpendicular to said given line, means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface, means for controlling said flow of radiant energy directed through each of said outlet areas individually of the flow directed through the other of said outlet areas so that said flow may at any desired time during said scanning movement be switched between an ON condition and an OFF condition, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas being such that when said flow is in an ON condition said flow is sufficiently continuous as to cause the areas of said photosensitive surface swept by the associated outlet areas during such ON condition of said flow to be exposed in its entirety to radiant energy from said outlet area, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas including a single source of radiant energy in the form of a cathode ray tube having an output face with a plurality of discrete portions each associated with a respective one of said outlet areas, said cathode ray tube including means for producing a beam, means for sweeping said beam in sequence across said discrete portions of said output face, and said means for controlling said flow of radiant energy comprising means for selectively causing said beam to be in either an ON or an OFF condition as it passes each of said discrete portions of said output face, said means for sweeping said beam being such as to cause said beam to be moved at such a speed relative to the speed at which said scanning means moves said outlet areas over said photosensitive surface that during the time required for any given one of said outlet areas to move relative to said photosensitive surface a distance equal to its Dimension perpendicular to said given line said beam is swept past the associated discrete portion of said output face a plurality of times, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface further including a lens means between said output face and said photosensitive surface for projecting real images of said discrete portions of said output face onto said photosensitive surface, said real images of said discrete portions of said output face defining said outlet areas, said means for directing radiant energy through each of said outlet areas onto said photosensitive surface further including a mask positioned adjacent said output face and having a plurality of openings each of which is superimposed on and delineates a respective one of said discrete areas of said output face, said mask including at least two rows of openings with the openings of each row being spaced from one another and laterally aligned with the spaces between the openings of the other row.