Miles Inc.

Agfa Corporation

Agfa Division, Bayer Corporation

David P Viola

Lawrence S Blake

Arthur J Bellemore

Ralph S Hanseler

Donald J Garand

Robert D Pepe

Norris C LeMay

Robert P McNay

An imaging system with beam focus adjustment, includes an emitter which emits a beam of radiation along a beam path and an optical assembly, having a focus adjustment mechanism, configured to focus the emitted beam on a medium to be imaged. A medium support member supports the medium on its support surface during imaging. A sensor generates temperature data representing a detected temperature of the medium support member and a controller controls the focus adjustment mechanism in accordance with the temperature data to adjust the focus of the emitted beam on the medium.

Program controlled beam focus to compensate for thermal changes

Thermal compensation focus adjustment

A method and apparatus for maintaining contact between the recording media and the media support surface of a scanning system. A pressure load is applied on the recording media in the immediate vicinity of a scanning laser beam, thereby ensuring surface to surface contact between the recording media and the media support surface while scanning.

Method and apparatus for maintaining contact between the recording media

The invention supports a mechanical carriage at three contact points for precise positioning on two guide rails, one guide rail having a V-grooved surface and the other having a flat surface. Two of the three contact points are recirculating ball bearings mounted against the V-grooved rail. The third contact point is on the flat rail and is also the driving contact point and comprises a drive shaft having a friction wheel thereon engaged with the flat rail to drive the mechanical carriage. The recirculating ball bearings and friction wheel are loaded against the V-grooved and flat rails, respectively, by magnets mounted on the carriage and spaced from the rails by an air gap. The air gap provides for a magnetic force between the magnets and the guide rails while permitting relative movement therebetween.

Support for a self-propelled linear motion drive apparatus

A linear motion drive apparatus uses a friction drive wheel to drive a carriage along two rails. The drive shaft of the friction wheel is supported by the carriage, and has a rotor of a pancake motor and an inertia wheel non-rotatably attached thereto. The stator is fixed to a wall of the carriage. The carriage is supported by recirculating ball bearings which are arranged with permanent magnets to urge the friction wheel into engagement with the flat rail. A slip detection and correction system has first encoder mounted on the drive shaft to produce a signal representing the rotational position of the shaft, and a second encoder mounted on the carriage to produce a signal representing the position of the carriage with respect to the rails. The motor is responsive to the signals to compensate for detected slippage.

Self-propelled linear motion drive apparatus

A scanning apparatus is disclosed in an imagesetter with an internal drum recording surface, having an improved carriage system which is self-propelled and carries scanning optics for recording an image including a spin motor/mirror, a laser diode, and a focusing lens. The drive system is mounted to the carriage to allow the carriage to move linearly inside the drum as a self-propelled direct drive. An electronic control device mounted on the carriage provides precision motion control of the carriage.

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Andover, MA, United States of America

David P Viola