Patent GB-957407-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to line-by-line data recording apparatus
Inventor: ROYLE GEORGE DEREK
Filed: 1959-02-13
Abstract: 957,407. Photographic type-composing apparatus. ENGLISH ELECTRIC CO. Ltd. May 13, 1960 [Feb. 13, 1959], No. 5058/59. Heading B6W. [Also in Division G2] Apparatus for recording line by line on a recording medium output data from a data processing apparatus comprises in combination a row of controllable radiation sources for producing momentarily beams of radiation in response to individual control signals supplied to the sources by the data processing apparatus, there being one such source for each column of characters to be formed in recording such data on the medium, a screen of material which is opaque to the radiation beams emitted by the sources, the screen having parallel rows of character forms for enabling the radiation beams to be transmitted, directly or by reflection, to the recording medium whereby to expose parts thereof then lying in a recording position in the shapes of character forms of the row then lying in alignment with the row of radiation sources, driving means for moving the screen cyclically relative to the row of radiation sources whereby to move in succession the respective rows of character forms into alignment with the row of radiation sources so as to enable character forms, as determined by successive groups of control signals, of successive rows to be recorded on the recording medium in a single line, means for producing electric row-identity signals for identifying at each instant the particular row of character forms then lying in alignment with the row of radiation sources for transmission to the data processing apparatus whose output data is to be recorded, and driving means for moving the recording medium through the said recording position so as to enable successive lines of character forms to be recorded on the recording medium. In the embodiment shown, transparent character forms are arranged in column and row formation (cf. Fig. 2, not shown) on an otherwise opaque drum 10 which is continuously rotated at constant speed by means of a motor 21. The characters in any one row are the same, but vary from row to row around the drum circumference. A row of light sources 11 comprising collimators and flash lamps is arranged inside the drum and a film 24 drawn from a spool 25 is fed intermittently through an exposure station 23 and on to a take-up spool 26 by means of a device 27 coupled to the motor 21. Associated with each row of character forms is a magnetic insert 12, a single reference insert 14 also being provided together with electromagnetic pick-up means 13, 15. In operation, the computer is fed with pulses by the pick-up 13 as the magnetic inserts pass therebeneath and the computer identifies the different rows by the number of such pulses received after receiving a reference pulse from the device 15. The individual flash lamps 11 are energized by the computer as the desired character forms come into registry with the exposure station. After each complete cycle of the drum 10, the device 27 advances the film 24 for recording of the next line. A row of light detectors 16 coupled to the computer is provided for checking that the light sources have been actuated correctly. If there is no immediately available line of characters for recording, the computer may be arranged to uncouple the take-up spool 26 from the device 27. In modifications, inserts 12, 14 and devices 12, 15 may be replaced by photo-electric means cooperating with binary-coded holes in the drum 10; transparent character forms on the drum 10 may be replaced by reflecting character forms co-operating with an external row of light sources 11; the film may be moved continuously if an optical compensator is provided' and the image recorded on the film may be enlarged and may pass through a continuous developing apparatus after exposure. The Provisional Specification also mentions that the detectors 16 may be positioned on the side of the film 24 remote from the light sources 11.