US3720784A — Recording and display method and apparatus

Claim 1

Independent Claim 334 words

A communication system comprising: first and second station sets and means for transmitting signals between said station sets; said first station set comprising: means for raster scanning a first object with a beam of radiation and forming a first signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; and means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which energies is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; said second station set comprising: means for raster scanning a second object with a beam of radiation and forming a second signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; and said transmitting means transmitting the first signal formed by raster scanning the first object to the second station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation and the second signal formed by raster scanning the second object to the first station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 334 words

A communication system comprising: first and second station sets and means for transmitting signals between said station sets; said first station set comprising: means for raster scanning a first object with a beam of radiation and forming a first signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; and means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which energies is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; said second station set comprising: means for raster scanning a second object with a beam of radiation and forming a second signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; and said transmitting means transmitting the first signal formed by raster scanning the first object to the second station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation and the second signal formed by raster scanning the second object to the first station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 334 words

A communication system comprising: first and second station sets and means for transmitting signals between said station sets; said first station set comprising: means for raster scanning a first object with a beam of radiation and forming a first signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; and means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which energies is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; said second station set comprising: means for raster scanning a second object with a beam of radiation and forming a second signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; and said transmitting means transmitting the first signal formed by raster scanning the first object to the second station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation and the second signal formed by raster scanning the second object to the first station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 334 words

A communication system comprising: first and second station sets and means for transmitting signals between said station sets; said first station set comprising: means for raster scanning a first object with a beam of radiation and forming a first signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; and means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which energies is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; said second station set comprising: means for raster scanning a second object with a beam of radiation and forming a second signal representative of the radiation scattered from said object; means for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies in accordance with an applied signal, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in a radiation absorbing film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy enough to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film; and said transmitting means transmitting the first signal formed by raster scanning the first object to the second station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation and the second signal formed by raster scanning the second object to the first station set where it is applied to the means for forming pulses of coherent radiation.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 248 words

Apparatus for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a pictorial image frame comprising a multitude of small discrete holes, said apparAtus comprising: a source of modulated coherent radiation for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in said film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; said source of coherent radiation is comprised of a laser medium from which can be formed a beam of electromagnetic radiation and a cavity comprising at least first and second reflectors enclosing said medium, said cavity having a geometry such that the beam of radiation has a waist in a region near the center of curvature of the second reflector; a modulator located at approximately the center of curvature of the second reflector, said modulator being adapted to form a first diffracted beam upon the passage of said beam of electromagnetic radiation through the modulator in one direction and a second diffracted beam upon the passage of said beam of electromagnetic radiation through the modulator in the opposite direction; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy in the pulses having more than the threshold energy so as to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 248 words

Apparatus for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a pictorial image frame comprising a multitude of small discrete holes, said apparAtus comprising: a source of modulated coherent radiation for forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least three energies, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said apparatus to form holes in said film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; said source of coherent radiation is comprised of a laser medium from which can be formed a beam of electromagnetic radiation and a cavity comprising at least first and second reflectors enclosing said medium, said cavity having a geometry such that the beam of radiation has a waist in a region near the center of curvature of the second reflector; a modulator located at approximately the center of curvature of the second reflector, said modulator being adapted to form a first diffracted beam upon the passage of said beam of electromagnetic radiation through the modulator in one direction and a second diffracted beam upon the passage of said beam of electromagnetic radiation through the modulator in the opposite direction; means for causing said pulses to be incident on different parts of the film; and focusing means for concentrating the energy in the pulses having more than the threshold energy so as to remove a portion of the radiation absorbing film.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 76 words

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein: the cavity further comprises a third element that is either a lens or a reflector and is located in the optical path between said first and second reflectors; the second reflector and the third element are spaced apart a distance greater than the radius of curvature of the second reflectors; the laser medium is located between the first reflector and the third element; and the modulator is an acousto-optic modulator.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 70 words

The apparatus of claim 2 further comprises means for deflecting light within the acousto-optic modulator comprising: an acousto-optic medium, a transducer, a local oscillator, a signal source, a first balanced mixer that modulates the output of the local oscillator with the output of the signal source, a pulse generator, and a second balanced mixer that modulates the output of the first balanced mixer with the output of the pulsed generator.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 16 words

The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means for inverting the output of the signal source.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 144 words

Apparatus for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a pictorial image frame comprising a multitude of small discrete holes, and displaying the image frame, said apparatus comprising: a source of modulated coherent radiation for forming pulses of coherent radiation; means for causing said pulses to scan the film in rastor-like fashion to form an aggregate of holes in the film, the aggregate of holes forming an image frame, each hole being separated by more than the diameter of the largest hole formed in said film, as measured from the centers of adjacent holes; means for varying the energy of each pulse in that range of time for which the area of the hole formed by the pulse increases with increasing energy whereby a gray scale is provided; and means for projecting light through the entire frame to view the image.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 144 words

Apparatus for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a pictorial image frame comprising a multitude of small discrete holes, and displaying the image frame, said apparatus comprising: a source of modulated coherent radiation for forming pulses of coherent radiation; means for causing said pulses to scan the film in rastor-like fashion to form an aggregate of holes in the film, the aggregate of holes forming an image frame, each hole being separated by more than the diameter of the largest hole formed in said film, as measured from the centers of adjacent holes; means for varying the energy of each pulse in that range of time for which the area of the hole formed by the pulse increases with increasing energy whereby a gray scale is provided; and means for projecting light through the entire frame to view the image.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 29 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising: a viewing screen; and imaging means for forming on the screens an image of the light that is directed through the holes.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 45 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising: means for reflecting light off the portions of the film in which the holes are formed; a viewing screen; and imaging means for forming on the screen an image of the light that is reflected by the film.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 22 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means for varying the energy in a pulse by varying the duration of the pulse.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 22 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means for varying the energy in a pulse by varying the amplitude of the pulse.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the source oF modulated coherent radiation is an electronically pulsed GaAs laser and means for modulating its output.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 30 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the source of modulated coherent radiation is any Q-switched laser and means for modulating the total energy of individual pulses produced by said laser.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the source of modulated coherent radiation is an optically pumped dye laser and means for modulating its output.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 41 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the source of modulated coherent radiation is a laser that delivers to the film an average power output of less than approximately 18 milliwatts in the Gaussian mode and means for modulating the laser output.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 56 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the means for causing the pulses to scan different parts of the film comprises: a beam deflector for deflecting the pulses of coherent radiation in a first direction across the surface of the film; and film transport means for moving said film in a direction perpendicular to said first direction.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 39 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising mounting means adapted to hold said film and substrate so that during the formation of holes in the film the substrate is closer to the source of coherent radiation than the film.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 37 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the film is chosen from the group consisting of bismuth, indium, tin, cadmium, aluminum, lead, zinc, antimony and alloys of two or more of these elements and the substrate is polyester.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 19 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means for viewing stereo pairs of images produced on the recording medium.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 34 words

The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means for combining into one color image three images recorded on the recording medium, each image being an image of a different primary color of an object.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 69 words

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the focusing means focuses pulses having a Gaussian profile and one of the energies above threshold to a diameter approximately equal to Square Root 2 D where D is the diameter of the hole that is formed and the diameter of the pulse is measured between the points at which the intensity of the pulse drops off to (i/e)2 of the maximum intensity.

Claim 26

Independent Claim 172 words

A method for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a multitude of small discrete holes that comprise a pictorial image and displaying said image, said method comprising: forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least two energies, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said method to form holes in said film and at least one of which is above said threshold; causing said pulses to scan the film in rastor-like fashion to form an aggregate of holes in the film, the aggregate of holes forming an image frame, each hole being separated by more than the diameter of the largest hole formed in said film as measured between the centers of adjacent holes; varying the energy of each pulse in that range of time for which the area of the hole formed by the pulse increases with increasing energy whereby a gray scale is provided; and projecting light through the entire frame to view the image.

Claim 27

Independent Claim 172 words

A method for forming in a radiation absorbing film on a transparent substrate a multitude of small discrete holes that comprise a pictorial image and displaying said image, said method comprising: forming pulses of coherent radiation, each of said pulses having one of at least two energies, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said method to form holes in said film and at least one of which is above said threshold; causing said pulses to scan the film in rastor-like fashion to form an aggregate of holes in the film, the aggregate of holes forming an image frame, each hole being separated by more than the diameter of the largest hole formed in said film as measured between the centers of adjacent holes; varying the energy of each pulse in that range of time for which the area of the hole formed by the pulse increases with increasing energy whereby a gray scale is provided; and projecting light through the entire frame to view the image.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 91 words

The method of claim 21 wherein: each pulse of coherent radiation has one of at least three energies, at least one of which is below the threshold energy required in said method to form holes in said film and at least two of which are above said threshold and sufficiently different to form holes of different sizes; and the pulses are incident on different parts of the film separated by more than the maximum diameter of a hole formed in said film as measured between the centers of said different parts.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 18 words

The method of claim 21 wherein the duration of each pulse is on the order of 30 nanoseconds.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 15 words

The method of claim 21 wherein the spacing between pulses is less than 8 microseconds.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1976-03-12	1976-09-11	1977-03-13	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1980-03-12	1980-09-11	1981-03-13	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1984-03-12	1984-09-11	1985-03-13	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Recording and display method and apparatus

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