High-speed printing apparatus

Claim 2

A printing apparatus comprising a radiation-sensitive recording medium, means positioned in alignment with said recording medium for storing a plurality of representations which when respectively interrogated by an incident radiant beam will be individually projected and imaged onto said recording medium to appear as printed matter thereon, a radiant beam source, means for deflecting a beam provided by said source to impinge upon a selected one of the representations stored in said first-mentioned means whereby the selected representation is projected and imaged within an assigned region of said recording medium, and means interposed between said first- and second-mentioned means and responsive to a beam deflected to a specified location by said second-mentioned means for selectively establishing a particular one of plural possible angles at which the deflected beam is to interrogate the selected representation whereby the particular location within said assigned region on said recording medium at which an interrogated representation is projected is determined by the angle established by said third-mentioned means.

Claim 3

A printing apparatus comprising a radiation-sensitive recording medium, means positioned in alignment with said recording medium for storing a plurality of representations which when respectively interrogated by an incident radiant beam will be individually projected and imaged onto said recording medium to appear as printed matter thereon, a radiant beam source, means for deflecting a beam provided by said source to impinge upon a selected one of the representations stored in said first-mentioned means whereby the selected representation is projected and imaged within an assigned region of said recording medium, and means interposed between said first- and second-mentioned means and responsive to a beam deflected to a specified location by said second-mentioned means for selectively establishing a particular one of plural possible angles at which the deflected beam is to interrogate the selected representation whereby the particular location within said assigned region on said recording medium at which an interrogated representation is projected is determined by the angle established by said third-mentioned means.

Claim 4

A printing apparatus comprising a radiation-sensitive recording medium, means positioned in alignment with said recording medium for storing a plurality of representations which when respectively interrogated by an incident radiant beam will be individually projected and imaged onto said recording medium to appear as printed matter thereon, a radiant beam source, means for deflecting a beam provided by said source to impinge upon a selected one of the representations stored in said first-mentioned means whereby the selected representation is projected and imaged within an assigned region of said recording medium, and means interposed between said first- and second-mentioned means and responsive to a beam deflected to a specified location by said second-mentioned means for selectively establishing a particular one of plural possible angles at which the deflected beam is to interrogate the selected representation whereby the particular location within said assigned region on said recording medium at which an interrogated representation is projected is determined by the angle established by said third-mentioned means.

Claim 5

A printing apparatus comprising a light-sensitive recording medium having at least one designated row comprising a multiplicity of assigned areas to which character elements to be printed are to be respectively projected, means positioned in alignment with said medium and having at least one row of stored character elements which when respectively interrogated by a light beam will be respectively projected to said assigned areas on said medium, means for providing a light beam, means interposed in the path of said beam for routing said beam to impinge upon and thereby interrogate at least a selected one of said stored elements whereby each selected element is projected within its corresponding assigned area on said recording medium, and means also interposed in the path of said beam and responsive to control signals applied thereto for controllably establishing a particular one of plural possible angles at which each selected element is to be interrogated whereby the positional displacement of said selected element within its corresponding assigned area is thereby determined.

Claim 6

A printing apparatus comprising a light-sensitive recording medium having at least one designated row comprising a multiplicity of assigned areas to which character elements to be printed are to be respectively projected, means positioned in alignment with said medium and having at least one row of stored character elements which when respectively interrogated by a light beam will be respectively projected to said assigned areas on said medium, means for providing a light beam, means interposed in the path of said beam for routing said beam to impinge upon and thereby interrogate at least a selected one of said stored elements whereby each selected element is projected within its corresponding assigned area on said recording medium, and means also interposed in the path of said beam and responsive to control signals applied thereto for controllably establishing a particular one of plural possible angles at which each selected element is to be interrogated whereby the positional displacement of said selected element within its corresponding assigned area is thereby determined.

Claim 7

A high-speed printing apparatus comprising means for supplying a light beam, means interposed in the path of said beam for deflecting it to any specified one of a plurality of target areas disposed in a matrix of rows and columns, means interposed in the path of said deflected beam for storing in a matrix of rows and columns holographic representations of characters to be printed, and a light-sensitive recording medium associated with said storing means and responsive to illumination of a stored character for recording a representation thereof, wherein the improvement comprises an n-stage electro-optic digital deflector positioned between said deflecting means and said storing means for further deflecting an incident beam of any specified one of 2n parallel paths emanating from said digital deflector, where n is any positive integer, and means positioned between said digital light deflector and said storing means for directing an incident beam to the one of the representations in said storing means selected by said deflecting means for also converting each different positional displacement imposed by said n-stage deflector into a corresponding change in the angle at which the deflected beam interrogates the selected holographic representation, whereby each different angular interrogation of a particular holographic representation causes the reconstruction of said representation on the recording medium to fall at a different position.

Claim 8

A high-speed printing apparatus comprising means for supplying a light beam, means interposed in the path of said beam for deflecting it to any specified one of a plurality of target areas disposed in a matrix of rows and columns, means interposed in the path of said deflected beam for storing in a matrix of rows and columns holographic representations of characters to be printed, and a light-sensitive recording medium associated with said storing means and responsive to illumination of a stored character for recording a representation thereof, wherein the improvement comprises an n-stage electro-optic digital deflector positioned between said deflecting means and said storing means for further deflecting an incident beam of any specified one of 2n parallel paths emanating from said digital deflector, where n is any positive integer, and means positioned between said digital light deflector and said storing means for directing an incident beam to the one of the representations in said storing means selected by said deflecting means for also converting each different positional displacement imposed by said n-stage deflector into a corresponding change in the angle at which the deflected beam interrogates the selected holographic representation, whereby each different angular interrogation of a particular holographic representation causes the reconstruction of said representation on the recording medium to fall at a different position.

Claim 9

Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said deflecting means comprises orthogonally-positioned acousto-optic deflection units.

Claim 10

Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said directing and converting means comprises a collimating lens.

Claim 11

In combination, first means for deflecting a radiant beam to any specified one of a plurality of target areas disposed in a matrix of rows and columns, and second means responsive to said beam being deflected to any one of said target areas for further deflecting said beam to any specified one of 2n parallel paths emanating from said second means, where n is any positive integer.

Claim 12

In combination, first means for deflecting a radiant beam to any specified one of a plurality of target areas disposed in a matrix of rows and columns, and second means responsive to said beam being deflected to any one of said target areas for further deflecting said beam to any specified one of 2n parallel paths emanating from said second means, where n is any positive integer.