APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING MICROFORM RECORDS AT HIGH SPEED FROM COMPUTER OR OTHER ELECTRICAL SIGNAL DATA SOURCES

摘要

Apparatus for producing microform records from computer stored data or other electrical data signal sources forms on the screen of a cathode ray tube at rapidly occuring intervals successive hard copy-appearing images of such data which is reduced in size by a bundle of tapered fiber optic filaments with a wide light receiving end encompassing the screen of the cathode ray tube and a narrow light projecting end encompassing an area of the frame of a microfiche card. The succesively produced images at the narrow end of the fiber optic filament bundle are applied to succesive frames of a heat developable masking film strip requiring more time to develop than the imaging intervals and moved in step-by-step fashion past the narrow end of the film optic bundle, a heating bar and an image transfer station where a flash of light is passed through the masking film strip to transfer a negative image thereon to a frame of an archival add-on microfich card-forming film. The transfer of a cathode ray tube image to the masking film, the application of a heating bar to a previously imaged frame of the masking strip and the transfer of a previously imaged portion of the masking film may take place simultaneously The heating bar has a length several frame lengths long so that a frame of the masking film is completely developed over several imaging intervals.