The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 06, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 16, 1996
Gregory J Whaley, Woodbury, MN (US);
Scott Thomas Mazar, Inver Grove Heights, MN (US);
Kenneth West Hutt, Wix, Essex, GB;
Management Graphics, Inc., Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
A focused laser beam is provided using a multimode laser of a type that generates a diverging beam with an asymmetric cross section. A collimation lens receives and substantially collimates the diverging asymmetric beam. An anamorphic beam expander enlarges a width of the substantially collimated beam in a first, multimode axis without substantially affecting the width of the beam in a second, single mode axis orthogonal to the first axis. Demagnification optics are arranged to receive and demagnify the enlarged width beam to produce a focused spot. The demagnification optics can include a cylindrical lens ('rod lens') having a longitudinal axis and arranged to receive the enlarged width beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis. The demagnification optics are merged with scanning optics to produce a scanned spot imaging system. The apparatus is particularly useful for exposing images, e.g., in a dye sublimation printer.