Printing system and method using a staggered array spatial light modulator having masked mirror elements
US5754217A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 19, 1995 |
| Grant date | May 19, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 19, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/19547
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system 10 for independently illuminating a plurality of areas on an object 26 such as a printer drum is disclosed herein. The system 10 includes a light source 12 such as an LED or a plurality of LEDs. A spatial light modulator 14, which may be a movable mirror device, for receives light from the light source 12 and reflects selected portions of the light. The spatial light modulator 14 includes at least n rows of independently modulated pixels wherein a mask prevents more than 1/nth of each the rows from receiving and reflecting light at any point in time. The light from the spatial light modulator 14 is imaged (e.g., with imaging lens 24) onto rows and columns of the object 26 to be illuminated. The object 26 is illuminated in a way that each column is illuminated by a corresponding row of pixels.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.