Micron Corporation

Bell + Howell Company

Roger A Gross

Ronald J Frias

David Jagielski

Marvin D Radloff

Donald D Gault

A compact thermal developer is mounted in a microfiche reader printer. The developer is a two-stage unit having a pair of roller-heater units located to pass on exposed copy sheet in one direction through succeeding stages in an over-and-under movement to develop the copy and produce a flat hard copy. Each roller-heater unit includes a roller having an outer thin friction coating rotatably supported within an arcuate recess portion of a heater bar. The heater bar and roller are arranged with roller biased toward the heater to grasp the copy sheet. The roller includes a thin aluminum tube supported by heat insulating end members mounted on a shaft with a floating connection to support the tube with a permission relative axial movement to compensate for different coefficients of thermal expansion. A thin silicone rubber coating on the tube establishes positive sheet movement while providing sufficient thermal transmission to present a thermally light background member. The roller-heater units shafts are mounted in plastic end caps supports. The microfiche reader includes a double-faced mirror unit pivotally mounted to transmit the microfiche image onto a front viewing screen or alternately to an exposure frame structure. A small mirror is pivoted from the image path in the alternate position. A copy paper roll is coupled to powered transfer and cutter assembly for moving the paper into and from the exposure frame to the developer.

Thermal film development apparatus

A microfiche reader in which the subject to be viewed and by which any selected area thereof can be quickly and easily brought into intersecting alignment with the light beam of the optical system of the machine, is carried by the upper one of two superimposed rigid frames that are mounted on the base of the machine by elongated ball bearing retainers interposed between stationary tracks fixed to the machine base and endwise movable tracks fixed to the lower one of the superimposed rigid frames, for movement in unison across the machine base along one of a pair of coordinate horizontal axes, and connected with one another for relative movement along the other one of said axes by similar elongated ball bearing retainers having rolling engagement with upper and lower tracks respectively fixed to the upper and lower rigid frames.

Microfiche reader with improved carriage mounting

The disclosure relates to a microform reader apparatus of the type which projects a magnified image of an image film frame onto the rear side of a viewing screen to facilitate forward viewing of the magnified image. The microform reader of the present invention includes an adjustable mirror assembly positioned between a light source and condensing lens for optimizing the brightness of the displayed image. In a preferred form the mirror assembly is adjustable from the front of the microform reader to allow simultaneous monitoring of the brightness of the display while the adjustment is being made. The microform reader of the present invention also includes an adjustable lens assembly which allows the optical axis of the lens assembly to be adjusted for perpendicularity to the image frame surface.

Growing community of inventors

Hartford, WI, United States of America

Roger A Gross