Scanning device with improved magnetic drive
First Claim
1. A scanning device comprising:
- a functional surface portion;
support structure pivotally supporting said functional surface portion along a first axis by a pair of torsional hinges having a resonant frequency such that said pivoting of said functional surface portion about said pair of torsional hinges pivots about said first axis;
at least one first magnet located along said first axis;
a first magnetic driver located below and cooperating with said at least one first magnet for causing oscillation about said pair of torsional hinges at a selected frequency.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A magnetic drive for providing pivotal motion to a mirror device. The magnetic drive may be used to drive any torsional hinged mirror, but is particularly suitable for driving a high-speed, torsional hinged mirror at its resonant frequency for use as the drive engine of a printer or visual display. According to a first embodiment, a dual axis mirror uses a first pair of torsional hinges to provide the resonant beam sweep and a second pair of torsional hinges to provide high-speed movement orthogonal to the beam sweep to maintain successive images of the sweep parallel to each other. The mass and movement of inertia of the resonant mirror are reduced by relocating permanent magnet sets to the axis of rotation. The reduced mass and movement of inertia allows a significantly higher resonant frequency and corresponding high pivotal speed.
-
Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A scanning device comprising:
-
a functional surface portion;
support structure pivotally supporting said functional surface portion along a first axis by a pair of torsional hinges having a resonant frequency such that said pivoting of said functional surface portion about said pair of torsional hinges pivots about said first axis;
at least one first magnet located along said first axis;
a first magnetic driver located below and cooperating with said at least one first magnet for causing oscillation about said pair of torsional hinges at a selected frequency. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A printer comprising:
-
a light source providing a modulated beam of light;
a scanning mirror comprising a reflective surface portion positioned to intercept said beam of light and a support structure pivotally supporting said reflective surface portion along a first axis by a pair of torsional hinges such that said pivoting of said reflective surface portion about said pair of torsional hinges results in said reflected light beam sweeping back and forth in a first direction;
at least one first magnet located along said first axis;
a first magnetic driver located below and cooperating with said at least one first magnet for causing said back and forth sweeping movement of said reflective surface about said pair of torsional hinges;
a moving photosensitive medium having a first dimension and a second dimension orthogonal to said first dimension, and located to receive an image of said reflected light beam as it sweeps back and forth across said moving photosensitive medium along said first dimension, said photosensitive medium moving in a direction along said second dimension such that an image of a subsequent trace of light is spaced orthogonally from a previous trace. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A bi-directional printer comprising:
-
a light source providing a modulated beam of light;
a scanning mirror device comprising a reflective surface portion positioned to intercept said beam of light from said light source, said reflective surface pivotally attached along a first axis to a gimbals portion by a first pair of torsional hinges, and said gimbals portion pivotally attached to a support member by another pair of torsional hinges, such that pivoting of said device about said first pair of torsional hinges results in light reflected from said reflective surface sweeping back and forth, and pivoting of said device about said another pair of torsional hinges results in said reflective light moving in a second direction substantially orthogonal to said sweeping beam of light;
at least one first magnet located along said first axis;
a first magnetic driver located below and cooperating with said at least one first magnet for causing said pivoting about said first pair of torsional hinges;
at least two second magnets mounted along said second axis and one each located adjacent each one of said another pair of torsional hinges;
a second magnetic driver cooperating with said at least two second magnets for pivoting said mirror device about said another pair of torsional hinges to provide said orthogonal movement to said sweeping beam of light; and
a moving photosensitive medium having a first dimension and a second dimension orthogonal to said first dimension, and located to receive an image of said reflected light beam as it sweeps or traces across said photosensitive medium along said first dimension as said mirror device pivots about said first pair of said torsional hinges, said photosensitive medium moving in a direction along said second dimension such that an image of a subsequent trace of light is spaced from a previous trace. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
Specification