Recorders – Printing – dotting – or punching marker – Ink transfer support or moving means
Patent
1986-11-26
1987-10-20
Evans, Arthur G.
Recorders
Printing, dotting, or punching marker
Ink transfer support or moving means
350354, G01D 1514
Patent
active
047017724
ABSTRACT:
A thermally activated image bar is disclosed for use in an electrophotographic printer. The image bar comprises at least one transparent prism having a surface closely spaced and parallel with a confronting surface of a transparent member containing an array of transparent heating elements and addressing electrodes thereon to form a gap therebetween. A liquid medium also capable of transmitting light and having an index of refraction matched to that of at least one prism is positioned in the gap. An optical shield bonded to one of the confronting surfaces has at least one aperture aligned with the heating elements to improve optical contrast. This assembly is hermetically sealed within a transparent housing and means are optionally provided to circulate the liquid medium. The heating elements are selectively energized in response to digitized data signals for pulse heating the portions of the liquid medium in the vicinity thereof to form momentary bubbles. The bubbles cause changes in the index of refraction of the medium in the gap, so that selected portions of a sheet of light directed through the prism and into the bubbles are deflected or modulated by the mechanism of total internal reflection. The modulated light may be blocked by a stop or shutter and the unmodulated light may be directed to the precharged photoconductive member of the printer to form latent images or vice versa. Several configurations of the image bar are disclosed for producing latent electrostatic images on a photoconductive member one line of picture elements or pixels at a time. In one embodiment, the optical shield contains a plurality of tunnels which are aligned with the heating elements, so that the bubbles produce a self-pumping action that causes circulation of the liquid medium.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4370029 (1983-01-01), Sprague et al.
patent: 4635082 (1987-01-01), Pomoto
Anderson Robert W.
Poleshuk Michael
Chittum Robert A.
Evans Arthur G.
Xerox Corporation
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