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US 4,549,784 AGranted
Optical fiber-guided scanning device
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorToshiyuki Inokuchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical writing or scanning device includes an array of fluorescent light emitting elements provided on a substrate which is embedded with optical fibers for guiding the light emitted to an imaging surface such as a photoreceptor for forming an electrostatic latent image thereon. Such a structure of embedded optical fibers allows to make the device sturdy in structure, compact in size and reliable in operation. Besides, the use of fluorescent light emitting elements allows to fabricate the device with ease and at low cost.
Claims16
An optical writing device for optically writing an image on an imaging surface, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a plurality of first electrodes provided on said substrate as spaced apart from one another and arranged in the form of an array, each of said first electrodes being transparent at least partly;
- means for driving said plurality of first electrodes selectively in accordance with an image signal supplied thereto from an external source;
- at least one second electrode disposed generally opposite to said plurality of first electrodes, said second electrode being maintained at a predetermined potential and capable of emitting electrons;
- light emitting means provided in contact with or above said plurality of first electrodes, said light emitting means being capable of emitting light when said first electrodes are selectively driven to cause the electrons emitted from said at least one second electrode to impinge thereon;
- and
- light transmitting means provided as embedded in said substrate, said light transmitting means having one end so located to receive light emitted from said light emitting means and another end so located to direct the light thus received to said imaging surface.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.